Employment Community Partnerships

Community partnerships, and providing legal support and advice to community-based organizations, is central to the Employment Unit’s work. Our partnerships with other advocacy, coalition and legal organizations strengthens our advocacy efforts.

The following community-based organizations are the Employment Unit’s partners and clients in administrative and legislative advocacy, individual and group cases (referrals or parallel organizing/legal advocacy) and/or systemic litigation:

  • The Boston Workers Alliance is a Dorchester-based organization led by unemployment and underemployed workers fighting for employment rights. BWA was one of the lead organizations in the successful effort for CORI reform.
  • The Brazilian Immigrant Center is a grassroots membership organization in Allston that focuses on training, advocacy, and organizing of immigrant workers in the Boston-area Brazilian community;
  • The Brazilian Women’s Group, also in Allston, focuses on community organizing and runs a workers' rights clinic for Brazilian workers.
  • Centro Presente is a membership-driven Latin American immigrant organization, located in Somerville, that engages its members through a combination of community organizing, leadership development and basic services.
  • The Chelsea Collaborative has as its mission empowering Chelsea residents and organizations to enhance the social, environmental, and economic health of the Chelsea community. Through organizing, leadership development, and workers' rights clinics, the Chelsea Latino Immigrant Committee serves and mobilizes on behalf of low-income working immigrants in Chelsea.
  • The Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) is a grassroots community organization based in Boston’s Chinatown.  CPA works for full equality and empowerment of the Chinese community; its Worker Center, established in 1987, helps immigrant workers learn about and organize for their rights on the job;
  • The Metrowest Worker Center (MWC) is based in Framingham and works primarily with Brazilian and Spanish-speaking workers from Latin America, engaging in workers’ rights organizing and worker leadership development.
  • New England United for Justice (NEU4J) is a membership-based organization in Dorchester that represents low- and moderate-income families who want to promote social justice and become more involved in their neighborhoods, city, and state. NEU4J is a multi-issue organization that focuses on issues chosen by its members.
  • The Union of Minority Neighborhoods, based in Boston, has the mission of confronting threats to civil liberties and human rights by working to ensure that skilled, committed, grassroots leaders of color can effectively organize on issues of concern in their communities.

In addition to these community-based organizations, the Employment Unit also works closely with the following coalition and advocacy organizations in our impact advocacy efforts:

  • The Coalition Against Poverty/Coalition for Social Justice, based in Southeastern Massachusetts, seeks to empower large numbers of current and former welfare recipients and low-income working people by developing leadership through vigorous public education and action campaigns.
  • The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) is a coalition of workers, unions, and community groups, and health, safety, and legal professionals. In addition to its coalition work, MassCOSH has a Dorchester-based workers center that engages in organizing and advocacy work directly with low-wage immigrant workers.
  • The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) focuses on the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees in Massachusetts, providing policy analysis and advocacy, institutional organizing, training and leadership development, and strategic communications. MIRA has an active membership of over 130 organizations.
  • The Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition includes over 70 state and local advocates, community organizations, labor unions, businesses, policymakers, doctors, researchers, and policy and data experts, who work together to educate the public and policymakers  about the need for access to paid leave for all workers (see www.masspaidleave.org);
  • Massachusetts Jobs with Justice (JwJ) is a coalition of over 90 organizations that represent low-wage workers in many diverse communities. JwJ does extensive organizing around issues of immigrant and other low-wage workers subjected to abusive working conditions.
  • Project Voice, American Friends Service Committee, located in Cambridge, is a nationally coordinated program that works for economic and social justice for all immigrants.

Finally, the Employment Unit works with a wide range of other legal organizations to strengthen impact advocacy and maximize clients’ opportunities for legal representation, including the Boston Bar Association, Boston University Law School’s Civil Litigation Clinic, Harvard Criminal Justice Institute, Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, Justice at Work, Massachusetts Bar Association, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI), National Lawyers’ Guild, Northeastern University School of Law Poverty Law Clinic, and the Volunteer Lawyers Project.