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Non-profit

Western North Carolina Workers Center (WNCWC)

Website:

www.wncworkerscenter.org
Location:

Hickory, NC
Tax ID:

86-1120732
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2023):

Revenue: $1,066,919
Expenses: $992,796
Assets: $973,310
Type:

Workers advocacy center
Formation:

2002
Coordinator:

Spencer Lo

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The Western North Carolina Workers Center (WNCWC) is a labor union-aligned worker center that focuses on organizing Latino workers in and around Asheville, North Carolina.  1

It is a participant in the AFL-CIO’s Worker Center Partner Program, which formally affiliates worker centers with state and regional labor union federations and labor councils. 2

Advocacy

Much of the Western North Carolina Workers Center’s (WNCWC) advocacy is focused on issues regarding workers in the region’s poultry-processing industry, especially health and safety issues. 3

COVID-19 Regulations

As late as 2024, the Western North Carolina Workers Center (WNCWC) aggressively promoted maximalist COVID-19 regulations in North Carolina, especially in workplaces with heavy Latino immigrant or migrant workforces.  4

In February 2021, the WNCWC was one of five organizations to file a complaint with the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) over North Carolina’s decision not to enact the maximalist COVID-19 protocols that the WNCNC and other left-of-center and labor union-aligned organizations had demanded. 5 The WNCNC’s co-complainants were the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry, the North Carolina State AFL-CIO, the North Carolina NAACP, Fight for $15 and a Union, and the Hispanic Liaison of Chatham County, and they were represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the North Carolina Justice Center, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.  5

In March 2021, a WNCWC representative accused the North Carolina Department of Labor of intentionally undercounting workplace COVID-19 deaths. Department representatives responded by explaining the difficulties involved in clearly identifying the source of a particular COVID-19 infection. 6

In October 2021, a WNCWC member using the pseudonym “Marielena” testified at a COVID-19 media event organized by the left-of-center National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH). Other attendees included a member of the Service Employees International Union’s powerful 1199 SEIU health care union and a representative of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)-aligned United for Respect, as well as a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for OSHA in the Obama administration. 7 At the event, she reportedly stated, ““Every one of us in my plant — every single worker — has been infected with COVID-19.”  8

In January 2024, the WNCWC petitioned the North Carolina Department of Labor to reinstate masking and social distancing requirements for construction and agricultural employees, and for migrant housing operators. 4

JMPRO Community Media

The Western North Carolina Workers Center (WNCWC) appears to be a fiduciary for JMPRO Community Media, a nonprofit and largely volunteer-run media organization in Western North Carolina that operates primarily in Spanish. 9 10 It produces a podcast, online news articles, and a daily radio show on the WSFM-LP low-power community-radio station in Asheville, North Carolina. 9

The WNCWC’s relationship with JMPRO is not publicized on JMPRO’s website, but in 2023, the WNCWC disclosed $206,125 in grants to JMPRO, accounting for roughly a fifth of the WNCWC’s $992,796 in expenses that year.  11

Funders who have made charitable donations to the WNCWC specifically to support JMPRO’s media operations include Borealis Philanthropy, 12 the North Carolina Community Foundation, 13 and the Hispanic Federation. 14

Funding

The Western North Carolina Workers Center (WNCWC) is heavily reliant on government grants, which often comprise a third to almost half of its annual revenues. In 2023, $345,768 of the organization’s $1,066,919 in revenue came from government sources, while in 2022, government grants made up $409,567 of $927,862 in revenues.  11

In 2022, the WNCWC received a $119,695 grant from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to perform workplace health and safety training and a $313,976 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s “Fostering Access, Rights and Equity” program. 15  16

In 2024, the WNCWC received a $200,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to support its organizing efforts. 17

Other notable funders have included Interfaith Worker Justice, 18 the Southern Vision Alliance, 19 Oxfam America, 20 Hispanics in Philanthropy, 21 donor-advised funds managed by the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, 22 and the Service Employees International Union-aligned Amalgamated Charitable Foundation. 23

In 2022, the WNCWC received a $100,000 grant from the NEO Philanthropy Action Fund, the advocacy arm of left-of-center pass-through funder NEO Philanthropy. 24

References

  1. “Home.” Western North Carolina Workers’ Center. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://wncworkerscenter.org/.
  2. “Worker Centers.” AFL-CIO. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://aflcio.org/what-unions-do/social-economic-justice/worker-centers.
  3. “State of Working NC 2020: Curing What Ails Us.” North Carolina Justice Center, September 3, 2021. https://www.ncjustice.org/publications/state-of-working-nc-2020-curing-what-ails-us/.
  4. Skinner , Victor. “NC Dept. of Labor: Masking, Social Distancing Requirements under Consideration.” The Daily News, February 26, 2024. https://www.jdnews.com/news/business/nc-dept-of-labor-masking-social-distancing-requirements-under-consideration/article_c32598be-7073-5204-9e13-904f55add525.html.
  5. “Complaint Filed with Federal Government against N.C.’s Failure to Protect Workers from Covid-19.” Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, February 17, 2021. https://www.lawyerscommittee.org/civil-rights-groups-file-complaint-with-federal-government-against-n-c-s-failure-to-protect-workers-from-covid/.
  6. Kasakove, Sophie. “NC Under-Counting COVID Deaths among Workplace Fatalities, Worker Advocates Say.” Raleigh News & Observer, March 9, 2021. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article248943519.html.
  7. “1199 New England Union Member to Participate in National Council for Occupational Safety and Health Covid-19 Briefing.” SEIU 1199 NE, October 27, 2021. https://www.seiu1199ne.org/2021/10/27/1199-new-england-union-member-to-participate-in-national-council-for-occupational-safety-and-health-covid-19-briefing/.
  8. “Our Bosses Cut Corners and We Pay the Price.” National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, October 28, 2021. https://nationalcosh.org/2021-10-Our-Bosses-Cut-Corners-and-We-Pay-the-Price.
  9. “Rapid Response.” JMPRO Community Media. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://respuestarapida.jmprocommunitymedia.org/.
  10. Hazeltine, Lizzy. “Information Access Powered by a Multi-Channel Media Strategy.” North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, January 11, 2024. https://www.nclocalnews.org/updates-blog/impact-story-jmpro.
  11. “Western North Carolina Workers Center.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/861120732.
  12. “Borealis Philanthropy, Form 990, Schedule I.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464598642/202422539349300877/IRS990ScheduleI.
  13. “North Carolina Community Foundation Inc, Form 990, Schedule I.” ProPublica. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/581661700/202103499349300315/IRS990ScheduleI.
  14. “Hispanic Federation Inc, Form 990, Schedule I.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133573852/202541629349301214/IRS990ScheduleI.
  15. “US Department of Labor Awards $1.9m to 14 Organizations Nationwide to Provide Workplace Safety, Health Training; Recognize Infectious Diseases.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/national/09082022.
  16. “US Department of Labor Awards Nearly $2m in Grants to Help Low Wage-Earning Women Access Employment Rights, Benefits.” DOL. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/wb/wb20220929.
  17. “152026 – Western North Carolina Workers Center.” Ford Foundation, October 2024. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/western-north-carolina-workers-center-152026/.
  18. “Interfaith Worker Justice, Form 990, Schedule I .” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/364063982/202113199349305086/IRS990ScheduleI.
  19. “Southern Vision Alliance, Form 990, Schedule I.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/611639641/202132119349300713/IRS990ScheduleI.
  20. “Oxfam America Inc, Form 990, Schedule I .” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237069110/201702269349300120/IRS990ScheduleI.
  21. “Hispanics in Philanthropy, Form 990, Schedule I .” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/943040607/202113199349324031/IRS990ScheduleI.
  22. “Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, Form 990, Schedule I.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/110303001/202221339349302787/IRS990ScheduleI.
  23. “Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc, Form 990, Schedule I.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/821517696/202413159349300006/IRS990ScheduleI.
  24. “Neo Philanthropy Action Fund Inc, Form 990, Schedule I.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800444461/202443059349300044/IRS990ScheduleI.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: May 1, 2005

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2023 Dec Form 990 $1,066,919 $992,796 $973,310 $6,561 N $1,066,919 $0 $0 $56,378
    2022 Dec Form 990 $927,862 $627,364 $895,760 $3,134 N $927,862 $0 $0 $46,285 PDF
    2021 Dec Form 990 $605,770 $617,264 $594,487 $2,359 N $580,490 $0 $0 $35,352
    2020 Dec Form 990 $1,020,529 $541,310 $612,100 $8,478 N $1,020,529 $0 $0 $31,680 PDF
    2019 Dec Form 990 $319,901 $268,801 $125,867 $1,464 N $319,901 $0 $0 $29,520 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $256,093 $230,018 $74,864 $1,561 N $256,093 $0 $0 $28,800 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $305,873 $280,246 $48,932 $1,704 N $305,873 $0 $0 $28,080 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990EZ $187,728 $203,781 $11,583 $960 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990EZ $161,477 $171,743 $27,424 $748 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990EZ $119,031 $125,523 $37,251 $309 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990EZ $137,161 $130,787 $34,338 $293 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990EZ $145,605 $113,335 $27,942 $271 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990EZ $100,696 $148,395 $31 $4,630 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Western North Carolina Workers Center (WNCWC)

    PO BOX 3
    Hickory, NC 28603-0003