Southwest Workers Union, also known as the Southwest Public Workers Union, is a San Antonio, Texas-based left-of-center advocacy group that operates as both a labor union-aligned workers center as well as an advocacy group promoting a variety of economic and social policies with an emphasis on working-class and poor families in south Texas. The group was originally founded as a non-union workers’ center and labor organizing project for San Antonio public school teachers in the late 1980s and has since expanded to include advocacy and organizing activity on a wide variety of left-of-center policy issues in the areas of minimum wage, environment, healthcare, and immigration, among other issue areas. The group is the political advocacy and lobbying arm of the Centro Por La Justicia (Spanish for the Center for Justice), a left-of-center advocacy group that operates under both its name and as the Southwest Workers Union. ^{1 2}

Funders of the Southwest Workers Union and the Centro Por La Justicia include the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Center for International Law and Justice, and the Climate Justice Alliance. ³

Background

The Southwest Workers Union, legally incorporated as the Southwest Public Workers Union, was founded in 1989 and its tax filings state that the purpose of the organization is to organize low-income communities around social and economic issues. The organization was originally founded as a non-union workers’ center and labor organizing project for San Antonio public school teachers lobbying for wage increases and changes to employment conditions for teachers. The group has also lobbied for a variety of environmentalist policies and programs including a cleanup of the former Kelly Air Force Base as well as lobbying for increased regulations regarding air quality and climate standards. The group also supported the adoption of “the first Climate Action & Adaptation Plan for San Antonio with a strong focus on Equity.” ⁴

Regarding economic issues, the group has lobbied for pay increases in low-income school districts and opposes outsourcing school services, such as cafeteria services. ⁵

The group is the advocacy and political arm of Centro Por La Justicia, a nonprofit advocacy group centered around the same topics as the Southwest Workers Union. Both groups operate interchangeably as essentially one organization, with the Centro Por La Justicia organization handling most of the finances for the organization. ^{6 7}

Activities

The Southwest Workers Union has stated that it organizes members amid the “complex” political landscape of south Texas, and invokes the 2016 election of President Donald Trump stating that “The surprising change of national administration coupled with the state budget crisis have led to additional cuts to social services and public education, women’s reproduction rights, increased unemployment, and policies that further marginalize working-class and migrant families.” ⁸

The group is affiliated with the National Domestic Workers Alliance’s Domestic Workers in Action Campaign and facilitated the campaign in “targeting Texas Senator John Cornyn and the state legislature in Austin as well as May 1st March for Migrant Rights.” ⁹

The group also operates a project called Comrade Economies, founded in 2016 in collaboration with the Domestic Workers in Action project, invoking radical-left language stating that “the larger systems of patriarchy and capitalism that have often left women and LGBTQ persons in the margins to survive solely by the means of their own ingenuity.” ¹⁰

1. “About Us.” Southwest Workers Union. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://www.swunion.org/about-us
2. “Environmental Justice.” Southwest Workers Union. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://www.swunion.org/environmental-justice
3. “Centro por La Justicia.” Full Text Search. Nonprofit Explorer. Query Conducted April 23, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?q=%22centro+por+la+justicia%22
4. “About Us.” Southwest Workers Union. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://www.swunion.org/about-us
5. “About Us.” Southwest Workers Union. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://www.swunion.org/about-us
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) Centro Por La Justicia. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/742720710/202321989349302467/full
7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) Southwest Public Workers Union. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/742657749/202342159349300704/full
8. “About Us.” Southwest Workers Union. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://www.swunion.org/about-us
9. “Workers Rights.” Southwest Workers Union. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://www.swunion.org/workers-rights
10. “Workers Rights.” Southwest Workers Union. Accessed April 25, 2024.  https://www.swunion.org/workers-rights