Rebecca “Becky” Wasserman is the director of government relations at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)[1] and a self-described “organizer for racial and economic justice.” [2]
She is on the board of directors of the left-wing Local Progress group[3] and the left-of-center Center for Community Change (CCC),[4] has made contributions to the left-wing Working Families Party National Political Action Committee,[5] and has received organizing training from the far-left Wellstone Action (currently known as RePower) and the left-wing community organizing training center Midwest Academy. [6]
Career
Wasserman joined Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in 2015 as the deputy director of government relations and was promoted to director of government affairs in 2018. [7] She describes herself as an “organizer for racial and economic justice” on her Twitter profile. [8]
In 2019, Wasserman co-signed a letter with the liberal National Employment Law Project (NELP) and the Child Labor Coalition opposing proposed U.S. Department of Labor changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act. [9]
Prior to working at SEIU, Wasserman was the director of campaigns and organizing for American Jewish World Service, where she organized a new department within the organization. [10] From 2010 to 2012, Wasserman was the deputy director of government affairs at the left-of-center lobbying organization focused on American-Israeli relations J Street, where she designed and executed advocacy trainings for grassroots activists for J Street’s national field network. [11]
Wasserman was government relations manager at the now-defunct American Rights at Work from 2004 to 2010, where she advocated for changes to national labor law to ease union organizing. [12]
Wasserman also owns her own consulting firm, Wasserman Consulting. [13]
Activist Roles
Wasserman sits on the board of directors of the left-wing Local Progress group[14] and the left-of-center Center for Community Change (CCC). She is the co-chair of CCC’s fundraising and resource innovation center[15] and on the advisory committee of Our Story Hub, a project of the Proteus Fund, which advises left-of-center politicians and groups on communication strategies. [16]
From 2002 to 2004, Wasserman was president of the left-of-center United States Student Association (USSA), which supports race-based social policy implementation in the education field. [17] As vice president of USSA, she spoke at the 2003 National Student Labor Week of Action in Chicago, IL. [18]
Wasserman has been trained by the left-of-center Rockwood Leadership program, the far-left Wellstone Action (currently known as RePower), and the left-wing community organizing training center Midwest Academy. [19]
Political Activism and Contributions
Wasserman has a history of donations to left-of-center and left-wing political action committees and Democratic Party political candidates. Since 2018, Wasserman has regularly contributed to SEIU COPE, the SEIU’s political action committee. [20]
In 2019, Wasserman donated money to the Democratic Party primary campaign of Christina Tzintzun Ramirez, who sought to unseat Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). [21] In 2018, Wasserman donated money to the left-wing Working Families Party National Political Action Committee;[22] the left-of-center Be a Hero PAC, which opposes right-leaning judicial nominations;[23] Liz Watson’s Democratic Party campaign for Congress,[24] and other Democratic Party congressional candidates.
Wasserman has also contributed to the campaigns of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)[25] and the left-of-center lobbying organization PowerPAC+. [26]
Lobbying
Wasserman has been a listed lobbyist and lobbied on behalf of J Street from 2010 to 2012 and the left-of-center labor activism group American Rights at Work from 2007 to 2010. [27]
Early Life and Personal Information
Rebecca “Becky” Wasserman was born in Swampscott, Massachusetts. She received her B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2002. [28] She resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. [29]