Young Worker Training Program

The Young Worker Training Program is a free, six-week course designed to help young workers in union, non-union, and climate activist spaces develop a clear political framework to understand the convergence of the labor climate movement and develop an organizing campaign to help advance worker-led climate justice initiatives. 

The first half of the program is designed to equip young workers with an eco-Marxist analytical lens with which to understand the current state of the working class and its relation to power and the climate. Together, we read and dissect theory and historical models of organizing, and contend with difficult questions about tensions in the labor climate movement, the role of American imperialism and international solidarity, and how power is built in the workplace and our broader communities. We also learn the fundamentals of organizing from how to build a good list to how to bargain environmental demands. 

The second half of the course applies the lessons we’ve learned to build an actionable, winnable campaign for young workers to carry out upon completion of the course. We examine young workers’ specific organizing conditions, power structures, and needs to craft a strategic campaign, whether that be a unionization campaign, the development of a climate justice caucus in union spaces, bargaining for climate demands in contract negotiations, or building community coalitions around worker-led environmental justice activism. 

The course is designed for cohorts of four or more who will be developing and working on the campaign together following the course, but may make exceptions if beneficial to your organizing efforts. We encourage you to apply! For additional questions about the program, please contact our Young Worker Organizer, Martina Manicastri at [email protected]