We are happy to announce that Derecka Mehrens, Executive Director of San Jose’s Working Partnerships USA will be our special guest speaker for the upcoming Delegate Assembly. She was recently featured on MSNBC for a Labor Day interview.
Working Partnerships is a community-labor organization dedicated to addressing the root causes of inequality for workers and communities of color in today’s economy. WPUSA has worked directly with Local 21 in jurisdictions across the Bay Area on public budget campaigns, winning millions of dollars for vital services for communities, union Members’ jobs and building solidarity between community and labor.
At our October Delegate Assembly, Derecka will discuss recent innovative labor campaigns for low-wage workers at Bay Area tech companies. Assembly attendees will learn how to apply those strategies to building a strong membership.
Working Partnerships is leading the way with Silicon Valley Rising, an effort to raise wages, create affordable housing, and grow our middle-class. SVR has notched several successes, including organizing drives to unionize tech company bus drivers, security officers and cafeteria workers and convincing companies like Facebook, Apple and Microsoft to expand their benefits and perks to low-wage and contract employees. Derecka helped San Jose’s families in 2012 when voters raised the City’s minimum wage — before the Fight for Fifteen campaign gained national steam.
Derecka has 15 years of community organizing, civic engagement, and public policy experience working in communities of color and with low and moderate-income families. She is the daughter of a union construction worker and a union community college teacher.
This very important assembly will take place on Saturday, October 17th at the Marriott Hotel in Oakland. Watch the MSNBC interview here.
