American Rights at Work Education Campaign (ARAWEC) was the 501(c)(3) arm of the left-of-center labor-union advocacy organization, American Rights at Work.

History

ARAWEC was founded in 2003 and worked in conjunction with its sister organization American Rights at Work (ARAW) to promote left-of-center labor policies. However, while ARAW merged with Jobs with Justice in 2012, ARAWEC did not complete the merger with Jobs with Justice Education Fund (JWJEF) at the same time. In fiscal year 2013 the organization transferred most of its assets to JWJEF and stated that it intended to dissolve in the near future. ^{1 2}

Policy

While it was still functioning, ARAWEC supported increased unionization across the labor market and issued a variety of reports and commentaries on labor issues. For instance, the group issued reports calling for unionization of Walmart, attacking organizations that argued in favor of right-to-work laws and free trade, and touting the workplace benefits of unionization. ^{3 4 5}

Leadership

The founding chairman of the board was the former House Democratic Whip David Bonior (D-MI). He took a leave of absence from the organization from 2007-2008 to work as the national campaign manager for John Edwards’ presidential campaign. ⁶

1. Gupta, Sarita. “Announcing a New Chapter for Workers’ Rights.” Jwj.org, June 12, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120928233239/http://www.jwj.org/blog/announcing-new-chapter-workers%E2%80%99-rights.
2. American Rights At Work Education Campaign, IRS (Form 990), 2013, Schedule O
3. “New Report Exposes Career Barriers for Walmart Associates.” AmericanRightsAtWork.org, January 14, 2011. Accessed October 11, 2020.  http://americanrightsatwork.org/20110119-975-418-418_o56qyhpmfrigc64fyxcygo-2/.
4. “Behind the Anti-Worker Agenda.” AmericanRightsAtWork.org, October 5, 2010. Accessed October 11, 2020.  http://americanrightsatwork.org/behind-the-anti-worker-agenda-20101005-926-230-230-2/.
5. “Businesses and Communities Benefit When Workers Have Unions.” AmericanRightsAtWork.org. Accessed October 11, 2020. http://americanrightsatwork.org/businesses-and-communities-benefit-when-workers-have-unions-20100323-875-116-2/.
6. “David Bonior.” AmericanRightsAtWork.org. Accessed October 11, 2020. http://americanrightsatwork.org/david-bonior/.