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Good Jobs Nation

Website:

goodjobsnation.org
Type:

Union-Funded Worker Center
Formation:

2013

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Good Jobs Nation is a union-backed left-of-center organization that advocates for a $15 minimum wage1 and higher pay for federal contractors. 2 It is closely tied to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)3 and has allied with more radical members of the Democratic Party, including democratic socialist Bernie Sanders4 and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. 5 The organization signed a petition supporting the Green New Deal. 6

Good Jobs Nation has opposed the use of zero carbon nuclear energy. 7

Founding

Good Jobs Nation is a project of Change to Win,8 a federation of labor unions, as well as the SEIU. 9 It was founded in 2013 to demand higher pay for federal contractors10 and an increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour. 11 The Fight for $15 pro-minimum wage increase campaign is also a project of Change to Win12 and SEIU. 13

Good Jobs Nation was created as a “worker center,” a type of labor organizing entity designed to skirt the rules established by the National Labor Relations Act. 14

Funding and Activities

A large number of left-of-center organizations and unions have funded Good Jobs Nation, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the United Farm Workers, and the United Food and Commercial Workers. 15 The union-aligned worker center Interfaith Worker Justice and the left-wing advocacy groups Progressive Congress and Our Revolution also have funded Good Jobs Nation. 16

Good Jobs Nation organizes protests, sues the federal government, and engages in political advocacy.

Demonstrations

In the spring and summer of 2013, Good Jobs Nation used what one reporter described as “aggressive tactics” to demand higher pay for federally contracted worker, including coordinating employee walkouts. 17 In coordination with the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, the Employment Justice Center, Interfaith Worker Justice, Jobs with Justice, and Restaurant Opportunities Center D.C.,18 Good Jobs Nation organized demonstrations for higher wages for federal contractors, including one strike in July 2013 that included nearly 50 workers and another in May 2013 that allegedly involved hundreds of workers from multiple federal buildings. 19

In 2015, Good Jobs Nation protested for a $15 minimum wage in front of the United States Capitol building with prominent socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, at the time a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. 20

Labor complaints

Good Jobs Nation files numerous complaints to federal labor authorities. The organization filed a complaint alleging wage theft by food vendors in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center21 and also filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against four employers alleging illegal surveillance, intimidation, and retaliation against employees. 22

Good Jobs Nation distributed video of demonstrators at the private home the then-Administrator of the General Services Administration Dan Tangherlini. 23 The group hand-delivered a labor complaint to Tangherlini. 24

Political advocacy

Good Jobs Nation supported the more radical Keith Ellison in the 2017 Democratic National Committee chairmanship election over former Obama Administration Secretary of Labor Tom Perez. 25

Illegal immigration

Good Jobs Nation supported an illegal immigrant making a labor complaint. Good Jobs Nation named Antonio Vanegas, an illegal immigrant, in one of its complaints filed with the Department of Labor. 26 Organizers for Good Jobs Nation taught Vanegas about labor law before he participated in the strike. 27

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

Good Jobs Nation was one of more than 600 co-signing organizations on a January 2019 open letter to Congress titled “Legislation to Address the Urgent Threat of Climate Change.” The signatories declared their support for new laws to bring about “100 percent decarbonization” of the transportation sector but denounced nuclear power as an example of “dirty energy” that should not be included in any legislation promoting the use of so-called “renewable energy.” 28

Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and as of 2021 accounted for 19 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. 29 An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. 30

People

Good Jobs Nation staff overlaps with its two most prominent supporters, SEIU and Change to Win.

Joseph Geevarghese is the Executive Director of Good Jobs Nation. He was the former Executive Director of the Hospital Accountability Project of the SEIU and affiliated with Change to Win. 31 Good Jobs Nation’s programs associate is also a former staffer the St Louis Organizing Committee,32 which received ample funding from SEIU. 33

Two other Good Jobs Nation employees simultaneously work for Change to Win. While Paco Fabian acted as the communications director at Change to Win Federation,34 he also served as the communications director for Good Jobs Nation. 35 Likewise, Good Jobs Nation’s legal and policy director George Faraday36 is also counsel and policy analyst at Change to Win. 37

References

  1. “About Us.” Good Jobs Nation. Accessed January 24, 2019. http://goodjobsnation.org/about.
  2. Hicks, Josh. “Good Jobs Nation gives voice to low-wage workers at federal buildings.” The Washington Post. July 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/good-jobs-nation-gives-voice-to-low-wage-workers-at-federal-buildings/2013/07/03/dd533bd8-e40b-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html?utm_term=.fffefeaed8ba.
  3. Berman, Richard. “Doing Big Labor’s dirty work.” The Washington Times. Thursday, October 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/3/berman-doing-big-labors-dirty-work/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS.
  4. Bordelon, Brendan. “Will Sanders’s $15 Wage Push Win Over Hillary’s Union Supporters.” National Review. November 10, 2015. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/11/sanders-15-wage-push-win-over-hillarys-union-supporters/.
  5. Miller, Justin. “Unions Stake Out Positions in Battle for DNC Chair.” The American Prospect. December 20, 2016. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://prospect.org/article/unions-stake-out-positions-battle-dnc-chair.
  6. ”Green New Deal Hub.” Influence Watch. https://www.influencewatch.org/hub/green-new-deal/.
  7. “Group letter to Congress urging Green New Deal passage.” Earthworks. January 10, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2023. https://www.earthworks.org/publications/group-letter-to-congress-urging-green-new-deal-passage/
  8. ”Our Campaigns.” Change to Win. Accessed January 24, 2019. http://www.changetowin.org/our-campaigns/.
  9. Berman, Richard. “Doing Big Labor’s dirty work.” The Washington Times. Thursday, October 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/3/berman-doing-big-labors-dirty-work/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS.
  10. Hicks, Josh. “Good Jobs Nation gives voice to low-wage workers at federal buildings.” The Washington Post. July 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/good-jobs-nation-gives-voice-to-low-wage-workers-at-federal-buildings/2013/07/03/dd533bd8-e40b-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html?utm_term=.fffefeaed8ba.
  11. “About Us.” Good Jobs Nation. Accessed January 24, 2019. http://goodjobsnation.org/about.
  12. ”Our Campaigns.” Change to Win. Accessed January 24, 2019. http://www.changetowin.org/our-campaigns/.
  13. Berman, Richard. “Doing Big Labor’s dirty work.” The Washington Times. Thursday, October 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/3/berman-doing-big-labors-dirty-work/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS.
  14. ”Our Campaigns.” Change to Win. Accessed January 24, 2019. http://www.changetowin.org/our-campaigns/.
  15. Hicks, Josh. “Good Jobs Nation gives voice to low-wage workers at federal buildings.” The Washington Post. July 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/good-jobs-nation-gives-voice-to-low-wage-workers-at-federal-buildings/2013/07/03/dd533bd8-e40b-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html?utm_term=.fffefeaed8ba.
  16. Fabian, Paco. “Good Jobs Nation Applauds the Introduction of a $15 Minimum Wage Bill By Democratic Lawmakers.” SquareSpace. May 25, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2019.  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/591dd51215cf7dccddaeec8c/t/59271947d2b857857ae87d84/1495734599828/15MinWageRelease052517.pdf.
  17. Hicks, Josh. “Good Jobs Nation gives voice to low-wage workers at federal buildings.” The Washington Post. July 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/good-jobs-nation-gives-voice-to-low-wage-workers-at-federal-buildings/2013/07/03/dd533bd8-e40b-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html?utm_term=.fffefeaed8ba.
  18. Hicks, Josh. “Good Jobs Nation gives voice to low-wage workers at federal buildings.” The Washington Post. July 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/good-jobs-nation-gives-voice-to-low-wage-workers-at-federal-buildings/2013/07/03/dd533bd8-e40b-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html?utm_term=.fffefeaed8ba.
  19. Eidelson, Josh. “Non-Union Federally Contracted Workers Will Stage Second Strike Today.” The Nation. July 2, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019.  https://www.thenation.com/article/non-union-federally-contracted-workers-will-stage-second-strike-today/.
  20. Bordelon, Brendan. “Will Sanders’s $15 Wage Push Win Over Hillary’s Union Supporters.” National Review. November 10, 2015. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/11/sanders-15-wage-push-win-over-hillarys-union-supporters/.
  21. Hicks, Josh. “Good Jobs Nation gives voice to low-wage workers at federal buildings.” The Washington Post. July 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/good-jobs-nation-gives-voice-to-low-wage-workers-at-federal-buildings/2013/07/03/dd533bd8-e40b-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html?utm_term=.fffefeaed8ba.
  22. Eidelson, Josh. “Non-Union Federally Contracted Workers Will Stage Second Strike Today.” The Nation. July 2, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019.  https://www.thenation.com/article/non-union-federally-contracted-workers-will-stage-second-strike-today/.
  23. Eidelson, Josh. “Non-Union Federally Contracted Workers Will Stage Second Strike Today.” The Nation. July 2, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019.  https://www.thenation.com/article/non-union-federally-contracted-workers-will-stage-second-strike-today/.
  24. Hicks, Josh. “Good Jobs Nation gives voice to low-wage workers at federal buildings.” The Washington Post. July 3, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/good-jobs-nation-gives-voice-to-low-wage-workers-at-federal-buildings/2013/07/03/dd533bd8-e40b-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html?utm_term=.fffefeaed8ba.
  25. Miller, Justin. “Unions Stake Out Positions in Battle for DNC Chair.” The American Prospect. December 20, 2016. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://prospect.org/article/unions-stake-out-positions-battle-dnc-chair.
  26. Jamieson, David. ”Undocumented Worker Alleges Wage Theft, Ends Up In Deportation Proceedings.” Huffpost. July 9, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/undocumented-worker-wage-theft_n_3567024.
  27. Jamieson, Dave. “Worker Who Reported Wage Theft Gets Reprieve From Deportation.” Huffpost. December 17, 2013, Updated January 25, 2014. Accessed January 24, 2019.  https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wage-theft-antonio-vanegas-u-visa_n_4459719.
  28. “Group letter to Congress urging Green New Deal passage.” Earthworks. January 10, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2023. https://www.earthworks.org/publications/group-letter-to-congress-urging-green-new-deal-passage/
  29. “Nuclear explained.” U.S. Energy Information Administration. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/nuclear/us-nuclear-industry.php
  30. “The Science of Sustainability.” The Nature Conservancy. October 13, 2018. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/the-science-of-sustainability/
  31. ”Joseph Geevarghese.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-geevarghese-77380b166/.
  32. ”Shannon Hilton.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 24. 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-hilton-logansquare/.
  33. ”’Worker Committees’ a $15 Million SEIU Project.” Worker Centers. April 10, 2014. Accessed January 24. 2019. http://workercenters.com/worker-committees-a-15-million-seiu-project/.
  34. ”Paco Fabian.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paco-fabian-4279603/.
  35. Miller, Justin. “Unions Stake Out Positions in Battle for DNC Chair.” The American Prospect. December 20, 2016. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://prospect.org/article/unions-stake-out-positions-battle-dnc-chair.
  36. Faraday, George. “Promises Broken #2: The Offshoring of American Jobs Continues.” Good Jobs Nation. August 2018. Accessed January 24. 2019. http://goodjobsnation.org/content/uploads/2018/08/Broken-Promises2.pdf.
  37. ”George Faraday.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-faraday-85b23110/.

Directors, Employees & Supporters

  1. Bernie Sanders
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