The Workers Lab

What The Workers Lab does

The Workers Lab is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2014 by Dr. Carmen Rojas in Seattle, currently operating from Oakland, California. It functions as a national innovation intermediary for worker-centered solutions, serving gig workers, low-wage workers, immigrant workers, LGBTQ+ workers, and labor organizations including SEIU 503, MLK Labor, and the Philadelphia Drivers Union. The organization's portfolio spans grantmaking (the Innovation Fund, awarding $75K-$200K plus a six-month fellowship), emergency cash relief (the Workers Fund and the incubated Canary social enterprise), participatory action research (400+ paid participant researchers), and proprietary technology development.

The organization's technology stack includes three notable platforms. Income Passport, developed with Steady and piloted by the Alabama Department of Labor and Louisiana Workforce Commission, is an automated income verification solution that reduced unemployment claim processing time from 60 minutes to under 5 minutes (with 35% automated in Alabama) and cut payment time from approximately 3 weeks to under 24 hours in Louisiana. UNtemp, launched in May 2026 in partnership with MLK Labor, is a union-backed worker dispatch platform piloted for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Seattle. LabReport, launched in March 2026, is an AI-assisted tool that monitors changes to federal labor websites against archived versions. The organization runs a Design Sprint methodology adapted from Google's framework and incubates Canary to deliver emergency cash as an employee benefit at scale.

The business model is philanthropic grant-funded rather than commercial. Revenue derives from institutional foundations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Omidyar Network, Blue Meridian Partners, Prudential Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Google.org), venture philanthropy, and individual donations. Since inception, the organization has invested $15M+ across 38+ worker-centered innovations and engaged 3M+ workers through technology solutions, with 44+ partnerships across public and private sectors. Distribution occurs through competitive grant applications, direct state government partnerships, labor organization channel partnerships, and city pilot programs (San Francisco SFO airport workers program). The organization has no parent company, is governed by an independent board chaired by Margot Brandenberg, and is led by CEO Adrian Haro (since June 2020).

Name

The Workers Lab

Legal name

The Workers Lab

Website

https://theworkerslab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Workers Lab is a U.S. nonprofit founded in 2014 that operates as a national innovation hub for worker-centered solutions, providing grants (up to $200K via the Innovation Fund), emergency cash relief, participatory research, and proprietary technology platforms (Income Passport, UNtemp, LabReport) to gig workers, low-wage workers, and labor organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Worker-Centered Innovation and Labor Advocacy Services

NAICS

Apprenticeship Training (611513), Temporary Help Services (56132), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Apprenticeships, Internships & Work-Based Learning Programs (BPACANAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Internship/Apprenticeship Matching & Work-Based Learning Platforms (EDAFAMAL), Workforce Benefits Administration (Enrollment & Deductions) (BPACAIAF), Incumbent Worker Training & Upskilling (EDAAAOAE)

Keywords

• Worker innovation funding
• Labor technology solutions
• Gig worker support
• Nonprofit venture philanthropy
• Worker organizing tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grants and Donations: The Workers Lab operates as a nonprofit organization funded through philanthropic investments from institutional foundations, social impact investors, and individual donors. Revenue comes in the form of grants and donations rather than product or service revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Workers Lab is a nonprofit innovation hub that funds, develops, and deploys worker-centered solutions for low-wage, gig, and contract workers. It provides grants of $75,000–$200,000 plus a six-month fellowship through its Innovation Fund, runs Design Sprints that co-create solutions with workers, and builds proprietary technology platforms including the UNtemp union-backed worker dispatch platform, the Income Passport automated income verification tool, and the LabReport AI-assisted government website monitoring tool.

Product overview

The Workers Lab operates as a national innovation hub for worker-centered innovation, offering a portfolio of interconnected programs rather than a unified software product. Core offerings include The Innovation Fund (up to $200,000 funding plus fellowship for worker-centered innovations), Design Sprint methodology (worker-informed problem-solving process), and specialized technology platforms. Technology products include UNtemp (union-backed worker dispatch platform), Income Passport (automated income verification for gig worker benefits), and LabReport (AI-assisted government website change monitoring tool). The organization also incubates social enterprises like Canary (emergency cash delivery), operates The Workers Fund (emergency relief program), and maintains a Learning Hub for knowledge sharing. The Technology Division co-builds worker-centered solutions for labor organizations and enterprises. The portfolio is connected through a shared mission of worker power and participatory design principles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Innovation Fund: Signature investment program providing up to $200,000 in funding and a six-month fellowship for worker-centered ideas led by underrepresented innovators.
• The Workers Fund
• Design Sprint
• Income Passport
• LabReport

Products and services

• The Innovation Fund Flagship investment program providing mentorship, training, and up to $200,000 in funding for worker-centered ideas led by underrepresented innovators, especially entrepreneurs of color and women, paired with a six-month paid fellowship and 12-month support cohort.
• Design Sprint Intensive, time-bound methodology adapted from Google's Design Sprint that engages workers in identifying, testing, and piloting solutions to challenges they face, with mandatory worker involvement from start to finish.
• UNtemp Union-backed worker dispatch platform connecting workers seeking short-term shifts with employers needing reliable labor, providing fair pay, benefits, and union contract protections, with first pilots in Seattle in May 2026.
• Income Passport Automated income verification platform built with Steady that helps gig workers access unemployment and safety-net benefits by aggregating past income from multiple gig accounts and simplifying expense accounting and income verification.
• LabReport AI-assisted comparison tool that identifies and documents changes across Department of Labor websites by comparing current versions against pre-Trump versions on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, extracting and summarizing meaningful content and structural changes.
• The Workers Fund Emergency cash relief program providing up to $1,000 grants to gig workers and low-earning contractors, launched as the COVID-19 Rapid Response in March 2020 and distributing nearly $2.8 million to 12,600+ workers.
• Canary Social enterprise incubated by The Workers Lab that partners with employers to deliver emergency cash grants as an employee benefit at scale, based on learnings from the Workers Strength Fund and Workers Fund programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• $15M+ invested in worker-centered innovation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MLK LaborcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026MLK Labor, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, is a key partner in developing the UNtemp platform for union-backed temp work. The partnership leverages MLK Labor's labor movement connections and Seattle base to pilot the worker dispatch platform.
• MLK Worker Innovation CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Partner in the UNtemp platform development and 2026 Design Sprint. The Worker Innovation Center brings expertise in worker innovation and is based in Seattle alongside MLK Labor.
• SteadycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2021Partnership with financial technology company Steady to develop and test the Income Passport automated income verification tech solution for gig workers to access unemployment benefits.
• Philadelphia Drivers UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorker organization that partnered with The Workers Lab to ensure the Income Passport solution was fully informed by gig workers themselves through dozens of hours of worker engagement.
• Gig Workers RisingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorker organization that partnered in the co-design of the Income Passport platform to ensure worker perspectives shaped the solution.
• Aspen Institute Future of Work InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched the Gig Worker Learning Project in 2021 to clarify what we know about gig work and workers, directly from gig workers. The partnership has convened dozens of worker leaders and researchers.
• Center for Cultural InnovationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Gig Worker Learning Project alongside Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative.
• CommonwealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead partner in designing the Workers Strength Fund emergency cash delivery experiment. Provided lead researcher Keyarash Jahanian for the design sprint.
• New Jersey Future of Work AcceleratorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership building a model for how state governments can invest directly in worker-led and worker-centered solutions.
• CanaryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial enterprise incubated by The Workers Lab to deliver emergency cash as an employee benefit at scale. Based on learnings from Workers Strength Fund and Workers Fund.
• SEA2026 Local Organizing CommitteeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to help staff jobs connected to the 2026 FIFA World Cup games in Seattle through the UNtemp platform.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Steady: Steady is a fintech platform for gig and contract workers that helps them track income, access benefits, and find work. It is a direct peer to The Workers Lab's Income Passport product — the two organizations have even partnered to develop Income Passport — making it the closest comparable in the worker-income-verification space.
• Year Up: Year Up is a workforce development nonprofit that provides training, mentorship, and job placement for young adults. It is comparable to The Workers Lab as a nonprofit focused on building economic opportunity for underserved worker populations through training and employer partnerships.
• Per Scholas: Per Scholas is a national nonprofit providing tuition-free tech workforce training and career support. It is directly comparable as a worker-centered nonprofit that builds skills, places graduates into quality jobs, and partners with employers to modernize pathways into in-demand careers.
• National Domestic Workers Alliance: NDWA is a national advocacy organization for domestic workers and a leading voice in the worker power movement. It is comparable to The Workers Lab as a worker-centered nonprofit driving innovation, policy, and organizing for historically excluded worker populations.
• Freelancers Union: Freelancers Union is a nonprofit organization advocating for and providing services to independent workers, including health insurance, retirement, and policy advocacy. It is comparable to The Workers Lab's worker advocacy and benefits focus, particularly for the gig and contract worker segments.
• Jobs for the Future: Jobs for the Future (JFF) is a national nonprofit driving workforce and economic transformation through research, policy, and innovation. It is highly comparable to The Workers Lab's innovation-and-research function, both operating at the intersection of worker-centered ideas, philanthropy, and large-scale system change.

Emerging players

• PayActiv: PayActiv is an earned-wage-access platform that partners with employers to give workers early access to earned wages. It is comparable to The Workers Lab's Canary incubated social enterprise, which delivers emergency cash as an employee benefit — both target financial resilience for low-wage workers.
• Earnin: Earnin is a fintech that provides no-fee earned wage access and financial tools to workers. It overlaps with The Workers Lab's mission of reducing income volatility for low-wage and gig workers through income smoothing and access to earned wages.

Broad incumbents

• Goodwill Industries International: Goodwill is a large, established workforce development nonprofit operating training, placement, and supportive services across the U.S. It overlaps with The Workers Lab's mission of building worker power through training and placement, but at significantly larger scale and broader scope.

Others

• Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative: The Aspen Institute's Future of Work Initiative is a research and policy program convening worker leaders, researchers, and policymakers. It is a partner of The Workers Lab on the Gig Worker Learning Project and comparable as a research-and-policy hub shaping the worker-centered innovation agenda.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theworkerslab
• Facebookfacebook.com/theworkerslab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-workers-lab
• Instagraminstagram.com/theworkerslab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments15 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Workers Lab