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... > social science subjects > business and management > sociology of work > sociology of work encyc > labor movement and other forms of collective action > worker centers
... > social science subjects > sociology > sociology of work > sociology of work encyc > labor movement and other forms of collective action > worker centers

Preferred term

worker centers  

Definition

  • Worker centers are community-based mediating institutions that provide support to communities of largely immigrant low-wage workers. Centers pursue their missions through a combination of approaches: Service delivery, including legal representation to recover unpaid wages, English classes, worker rights education, and matchmaking—introducing workers to services available through other agencies such as health care, housing, and immigration assistance Advocacy, including researching and releasing exposés about conditions in low-wage industries, lobbying for new laws and changes in existing ones, working with government agencies to improve labor standards enforcement and complaint processes, and bringing suits against employers Organizing, building ongoing organizations, and engaging in leadership development among workers to take action on their own behalf for economic and political change In 1992, there were five worker centers nationwide, by 2003 there were 137, and there are estimated to be between 160 and 200 worker centers in the United States today. [Source: Sociology of Work: An Encyclopedia; Worker Centers]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/worker_centers

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