Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha

What Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha does

CTUL (Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha) is a worker-led nonprofit advocacy organization headquartered at 3715 Chicago Ave in Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded in 2007. Its core function is organizing low-wage workers across multiple industries in the Twin Cities metro, including non-union construction, retail cleaning, food service, downtown hospitality, and home care, with a particular focus on immigrant workers and workers of color. The organization operates a community-led model in which organizers recruit members through worksite visits, one-on-one conversations, small group meetings, and training sessions, and build power through strikes, direct actions, picket lines, and policy advocacy. CTUL does not sell products or software; its underlying technology footprint is limited to a bilingual English/Spanish WordPress website (Astra/Elementor), social media accounts, and donor-facing tools on Action Network and PayPal.

CTUL's business model is a nonprofit funding stack composed of three streams: individual donations accepted at any amount via Action Network and PayPal, foundation grants secured through a dedicated Lead Development and Narrative Strategy staff member, and recurring worker membership dues paid through the Action Network platform. Its primary programs include Defensores (a leadership development program), Building Dignity and Respect (BDR) in construction, 86ICE (immigrant worker safety), the Future Fighters program, and a newly launched 'Strength in Our Roots, Power in Our Branches' campaign. CTUL operates under a collective bargaining agreement with Minnesota Newspaper & Communication Guild, TNG-CWA Local 37002, reflecting a unionized staff structure led by Co-Directors Merle Payne and Veronica Mendez Moore.

The organization has accumulated a track record of policy and legal victories: the first-in-the-nation Responsible Contractor Policy adopted by Target Corporation in 2014, a Minneapolis Paid Sick Days ordinance in 2016, an over-$400,000 class action settlement for retail janitors in 2016, and ongoing enforcement partnerships with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights against exploitative contractors such as Absolute Drywall. CTUL's revenue is not publicly disclosed, and its primary revenue risk lies in reliance on foundation grants and donor sentiment tied to broader political and immigration policy environments.

Name

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha

Legal name

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha

Website

https://ctul.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL) is a worker-led nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, MN that organizes low-wage workers in construction, retail cleaning, food service, and hospitality across the Twin Cities to fight wage theft, win policy reforms, and build collective power.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Organizing and Worker Advocacy Services

NAICS

Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations (813930), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Labor, Worker Rights & Employment Policy Advocacy (BPAGAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Civil Society Strengthening & Civic Space (BPADAGAD)

Keywords

• Labor organizing services
• Worker advocacy programs
• Wage theft recovery
• Collective bargaining support
• Community workforce development

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: CTUL accepts donations of any amount at any time from individual supporters. Donations can be made through the Action Network platform or PayPal.
2. Foundation Grants: CTUL secures foundation grants to fund its organizing work, with a Lead Development and Narrative Strategy staff member focused on securing foundation grants.
3. Membership Dues: Worker members of CTUL pay dues to support the organization. Members can pay dues through Action Network platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL) is a worker-led nonprofit labor organizing center in Minneapolis that organizes, educates, and empowers low-wage workers — primarily in non-union construction, retail cleaning, fast food, hospitality/home care, and downtown retail — through direct worksite outreach, collective action, strikes, leadership development, and policy campaigns. The organization delivers its services at no cost to worker-members, funded by individual donations, foundation grants, and member dues, and supports workers in recovering stolen wages, winning collective bargaining rights, and securing industry-wide policies such as Responsible Contractor Policies and paid sick days.

Product overview

CTUL (Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha) is a worker-led nonprofit advocacy organization based in Minneapolis, MN, not a product or technology company. It does not offer products, software, or services for sale. Its work consists of worker organizing campaigns (Defensores leadership development, Building Dignity and Respect in construction, Future Fighters), advocacy for minimum wage and paid sick leave policies, legal and material worker resources, and coalition-based movement building. CTUL accepts donations via Action Network and PayPal, and maintains a bilingual (English/Spanish) website built on WordPress/Astra/Elementor. There are no commercial products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Defensores (Leaders in Growth) Leadership Development Program A leadership development and worker education program that builds the voice, leadership, and collective power of CTUL worker-members — particularly immigrant workers and workers of color — to identify and challenge systems of oppression including racism, capitalism, and patriarchy. Delivered at no cost to worker-members.
• Building Dignity and Respect (BDR) Construction Campaign A worker-organizing campaign for non-union construction workers in the Twin Cities metro area that fights wage theft, recovers stolen wages, builds worker voice on job sites, and pushes for state-level enforcement against exploitative subcontractors (e.g., Minnesota Department of Human Rights action against Absolute Drywall for sexual harassment).
• 86ICE / Future Fighters Immigrant Worker Campaign A campaign protecting immigrant restaurant and other low-wage workers from immigration enforcement, coordinated with Restaurant Opportunities Center of Minnesota (ROC MN), demanding restaurants create long-term worker safety plans and exposing industry losses from immigration raids.
• Retail Janitor / Responsible Contractor Policy Campaign A multi-year campaign organizing contracted retail janitors at major Twin Cities retailers that won the first-in-the-nation Responsible Contractor Policy at Target, securing the right to collectively bargain, safety committees with 50% worker representation, and protections against forced seven-day work weeks, and ultimately a permanent voice across the industry.
• Wage Theft Recovery Support Direct support for individual workers to recover stolen wages, including legal referrals, campaign accompaniment, and class action participation (e.g., recovered $23,000 for member Fidel Martinez; class action settlement over $400,000 for retail janitors).
• Worker Solidarity Committee and Volunteer Programs A program for non-worker allies to support worker-led campaigns through event organizing, direct action support, meeting logistics, and donations, including monthly donor and annual contributor organizing managed by a Donor Organizer.
• Know-Your-Rights and Worker Education Training Education and training sessions for low-wage workers covering labor rights, Know-Your-Rights information, minimum wage ordinances, and wage theft prevention, delivered through the Defensores leadership program and dedicated organizers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Target Corporation adopted first-in-the-nation Responsible Contractor Policy after CTUL organizing
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Restaurant Opportunities Center of Minnesota (ROC MN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerROC MN and CTUL partnered together in the '86ICE' campaign demanding restaurants create long-term safety plans protecting workers from immigration enforcement. Both organizations held joint news conferences and coordinated advocacy efforts.
• Hospitality MinnesotaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRestaurant industry association that businesses are experiencing millions of dollars in weekly losses. CTUL and ROC MN called on Hospitality Minnesota to support both workers and restaurant operators in the context of immigration enforcement concerns.
• Minnesota Department of Human RightscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMDHR announced action to join a lawsuit against construction subcontractor Absolute Drywall for allowing sexual harassment. CTUL's organizing efforts led to this enforcement action against exploitative contractors.
• Target CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfter four years of organizing including leading three strikes against cleaning companies, CTUL negotiated with Target to adopt the first-in-the-nation Responsible Contractor Policy. This policy protects and ensures workers' rights to collectively bargain, establishes safety committees with 50% worker representation, and prevents forced seven-day work weeks.
• MN350minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental justice organization partnering with CTUL on connecting construction workers' rights and environmental justice. Member David Francisco Moreno's story was featured in partnership highlighting the intersection of worker rights and environmental protection.
• Minnesota Newspaper & Communication Guild, TNG-CWA Local 37002coreOthersCTUL operates under a collective bargaining agreement with this union, demonstrating the organization's commitment to worker rights and fair labor practices for its own staff.
• Filipinx for Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice in Minnesota (FIRM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStaff member Toni Geurts organizes with FIRM as part of broader coalition work for immigrant rights and racial justice in Minnesota.
• Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStaff member Toni Geurts organizes with IWOC as part of coalition work for workers' rights and justice system reform.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Centro de los Derechos del Migrante: A transnational worker center supporting migrant workers in the U.S. on wage theft, trafficking, and workplace rights. Operates as a direct peer in CTUL's defense-of-immigrant-workers mission.
• Make the Road New York: A neighborhood-based worker center and immigrant rights organization in New York using worker-led organizing across construction, retail, and service sectors — the same multi-sector model CTUL deploys in the Twin Cities.
• Laundry Workers Center: NYC-based worker center that organizes laundry and janitorial workers using a base-building model similar to CTUL's retail janitor organizing, including direct worker leadership development and corporate accountability campaigns.
• National Domestic Workers Alliance: The leading U.S. worker center coalition organizing nannies, housecleaners, and home care workers — directly overlapping with CTUL's home care worker segment through similar worker-led, multi-state organizing strategy.
• Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) United: A national worker center organizing restaurant workers to improve wages and working conditions. Highly comparable to CTUL's food-service organizing wing, and an active coalition partner through ROC MN in the Twin Cities.
• Workers' Center for Racial Justice: Chicago-based worker center focused on Black, brown, and immigrant workers, employing a parallel worker-led organizing model and cross-sector strategy (construction, restaurants, home care) very close to CTUL's approach.

Broad incumbents

• Fight for $15 (Service Employees International Union): National fast food $15/hour minimum wage campaign that CTUL's fast food workers have participated in, with nationwide strikes covering 190+ cities. Functions as a comparable mass-mobilization labor advocacy movement.
• Interfaith Worker Justice: A national federation of worker centers and faith-based labor committees. Operates as a broader incumbent in the worker-center space that CTUL's coalition work connects into, including shared campaigns on wage theft and immigrant worker rights.
• Jobs with Justice: A national network coordinating labor, faith, and community organizations on worker rights. Comparable to CTUL's coalition model and Downtown/Hospitality organizing through shared policy and strike infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund (Building Dignity and Respect): The Building Dignity and Respect (BDR) worker-management cooperation model touches CTUL's construction organizing. As a BDR-adjacent entity, it provides a structural peer for CTUL's 'Building Dignity and Respect' construction campaign.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ctul_tc
• Facebookfacebook.com/CTULucha
• Instagraminstagram.com/ctul_tc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha