Chicago Jobs with Justice

What Chicago Jobs with Justice does

Chicago Jobs with Justice is a nonprofit labor advocacy coalition founded in 1991 in Chicago, Illinois, operating from donated office space at 333 S. Ashland Ave. in the historic Workers United union hall. The organization unites community, faith, labor, and student leaders to build worker power through coalition-based organizing, and it established Chicago's first worker center while creating lasting connections between immigration organizations and labor unions. Its core staff of six — led by Executive Director Jill Manrique Calderón Castillo — is supported by an Executive Board drawn from major Chicago labor unions and community organizations.

The organization delivers a portfolio of non-technological services centered on worker organizing: Know Your Rights training (covering immigration, workplace rights, and health and safety), political and organizing education, strike line support, a volunteer Workers' Rights Board that hosts hearings and rallies year-round, and Healing and Solidarity Circles serving women, femme-identifying, Black, and Latino workers. Supporting programs include a School Visits program, the Workplace Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Training, and linkouts to partners such as ICIRR, Healing to Action, and Shift Change. Communication channels include the bilingual La Huelga newsletter, a monthly Lumpen Radio show, and active social media presence on YouTube, SoundCloud, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

Revenue is generated through three streams: individual donations (one-time and recurring, processed via Action Network), grants and foundation funding (managed by a dedicated Grants Manager and Assistant), and fundraising events (primarily the annual Fiesta de las Rosas). The organization does not sell products or services, has no pricing model, and discloses no financial figures. Its distribution model relies on direct community engagement, a 13+ member coalition partner network, and broad volunteer mobilization rather than traditional sales channels.

Name

Chicago Jobs with Justice

Legal name

Chicago Jobs with Justice

Website

https://chicagojwj.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chicago Jobs with Justice is a nonprofit labor coalition founded in 1991 that supports workers in Chicago through Know Your Rights training, organizing, strike support, and a volunteer Workers' Rights Board, funded by donations, grants, and fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Advocacy and Worker Organizing Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Labor, Worker Rights & Employment Policy Advocacy (BPAGAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Workplace & Career Integration for Immigrants (Credentialing, Job Readiness) (EDAAADAE), Refugee & Migrant Integration Enterprises (Livelihoods, Services) (BPAGALAN)

Keywords

• Labor advocacy services
• Worker organizing training
• Know your rights education
• Community coalition building
• Worker rights resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Accepts one-time and recurring donations from individuals who share the organization's values. Donations support strike line operations, organizing efforts, and general operations.
2. Grants and Foundation Funding: Grants Manager (Juan Carlos Hernández) manages grant applications and relationships with funders. The organization receives grant funding to support programs and operations.
3. Fundraising Events: Hosts annual fundraiser Fiesta de las Rosas to raise funds and celebrate collective work and solidarity.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Chicago Jobs with Justice is a nonprofit labor and community coalition organization that delivers worker organizing training, Know Your Rights education (immigration, workplace, and health and safety), strike line support, and Healing and Solidarity Circles for marginalized workers. It mobilizes a volunteer Workers' Rights Board, publishes the bilingual La Huelga newsletter, and convenes labor, faith, and community groups across Chicago to build worker power.

Product overview

Chicago Jobs with Justice operates as a labor and community coalition organization, not a technology product company. Its offerings consist of non-technical services centered on worker organizing and labor rights advocacy. The core programs include Know Your Rights Training (covering immigration, workplace rights, and health & safety), Organizing Training, and a Volunteer Program. Supporting programs encompass the Workers' Rights Board (volunteer advocacy group), Strike Line Support services, and Healing and Solidarity Circles. The organization also produces educational resources including Immigration Know Your Rights Cards, Workplace Health and Safety Resources, and School Visits programs. Communication offerings include the La Huelga Newsletter and the annual Fiesta de las Rosas fundraiser event. Recent offerings include Workplace Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Training. These services function as standalone programs rather than an integrated platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Huelga: Newsletter published by Chicago Jobs with Justice
• Workers' Rights Board

Products and services

• Know Your Rights Training Training programs covering immigration rights, workplace rights, and workplace health and safety, available in English and Spanish, delivered to workers and community members.
• Organizing Training Training programs covering union history, class consciousness, corporate oppression, and broader political education for workers and community members.
• Workers' Rights Board A volunteer group that hosts hearings on worker struggles, participates in strike and rally lines, and organizes a Labor History Film Series.
• Strike Line Support Strike support services including strike fund collection, supply support such as food and inflatables, and volunteer people power support.
• Healing and Solidarity Circles Support circles for women, femme identifying workers, Black workers, and Latino workers focusing on collective wellness and organizing.
• Volunteer Program Structured volunteer engagement program connecting community members to worker organizing campaigns through a comprehensive intake form.
• La Huelga Newsletter Bilingual newsletter featuring community stories, resources, updates on worker struggles, and labor movement news.
• Immigration Know Your Rights Resources Printable know your rights cards and guides for immigrants, including directories of non-profit immigration help organizations and legal resources.
• Workplace Health and Safety Resources Resources including building worker committees guidance, Illinois workers' compensation guide, OSHA complaint filing information, and the Shift Change Tracker tool for hospitality workers.
• School Visits Program Educational visits to schools for career days, class presentations, and sessions for kids, teachers, and parents.
• Workplace Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Training Virtual training on mental illness recognition, workplace stress awareness, and community wellness planning.

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers UnitedcoreOthersDonated office space in their historic union hall at 333 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago. This space support enables Chicago JWJ operations and connects them to the labor movement.
• Chicago Federation of LaborcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDon Villar (Secretary-Treasurer) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board. Marcus Shepherd (Director of Organizing) honored at Fiesta de las Rosas 2025. Strong alliance on organizing initiatives.
• SEIU 73coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJeffrey Howard (Executive Vice President) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board. SEIU HCIIMK resources shared on solidarity page for VA workers.
• Warehouse Workers for JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarcos Ceniceros (Executive Director) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board.
• Painters District Council 30coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Butler (Director of Communication and Strategic Initiatives) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board.
• Teamsters 727coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSean McGough (Business Agent) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board. 24/7 strikeline support for Mauser workers at 3201 S Millard Ave.
• Illinois Nurses AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTristan Bock-Hughes (Senior Lead Organizer) and Leander Londres (UI Health) serve on Chicago JWJ Executive Board.
• Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRev. Dr. Robert C. Jones, Jr. (Pastor) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board. Faith community partner.
• Peace in PilsencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeonardo Quintero (Founder) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board. Community organizing in Pilsen neighborhood.
• Chicago Workers CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJose Frausto (Executive Director) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board.
• UPI Local 1400coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Miller (President) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board.
• Laborers Local 1coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJeremy Esparza (Business Agent) serves on Chicago JWJ Executive Board.
• AFGE Local 0789coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFGE Local representing VA workers. Solidarity resources shared on Chicago JWJ solidarity page for VA workers. Dr. Kendrick Roberson (National VP of AFGE) spoke at Fiesta de las Rosas 2025.
• National Lawyers Guild ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHonored at Fiesta de las Rosas 2025. Provides Legal Observers for protests, represents arrested activists, files civil rights lawsuits. Resource for workers on Know Your Rights.
• ICIRR (Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides Family Support Hotline (1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY) and detailed directories of non-profit immigration help organizations. Chicago JWJ links to their resources.
• Healing to ActionsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerResource partner for sexual harassment and domestic violence resources. Chicago JWJ links to their resource guide.
• The NetworksupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerResource partner for gender-based violence support. Chicago JWJ links to their services.
• Survivors KnowsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerResource partner for survivors of power-based violence. Chicago JWJ links to their organization.
• Shift ChangesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital safety tool for Chicago hospitality workers. Chicago JWJ links to their Shift Change Tracker for worker employment decisions and advocacy.
• Colorado Jobs with JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNichole Foster from Colorado JWJ honored at Fiesta de las Rosas 2025. Both organizations part of national Jobs with Justice network.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• National Immigration Law Center: National immigrant rights advocacy organization. Comparable as the policy/legal advocacy counterpart on the immigration side of Chicago JWJ's integrated labor-immigration work, though focused on impact litigation and policy rather than direct worker organizing.
• AFL-CIO: Largest U.S. labor federation. Comparable as the umbrella coalition for affiliated unions including Chicago Federation of Labor, but operating at national scale rather than a single-city worker-center focus.
• SEIU (Service Employees International Union): Major labor union whose SEIU 73 local sits on Chicago JWJ's Executive Board. Comparable in mission for worker power and collective bargaining, though operating at national scale as a collective bargaining agent rather than a coalition intermediary.

Direct peers

• Warehouse Workers for Justice: Chicago-area worker center focused on warehouse and logistics workers. Comparable as a local labor advocacy nonprofit in the same coalition network, providing Know Your Rights support and strike organizing in overlapping worker segments.
• National Jobs with Justice: National parent network of which Chicago JWJ is a local affiliate. Directly comparable as a coalition-based labor rights and worker advocacy organization with the same mission structure and Know Your Rights/training programs.
• Interfaith Worker Justice: National faith-labor coalition network that trains worker centers and runs Know Your Rights programs. Comparable as a coalition-based nonprofit bridging faith communities and labor unions for worker advocacy, overlapping with Chicago JWJ's faith-labor model.
• Chicago Federation of Labor: Central labor council for Chicago-area unions; represented on Chicago JWJ's Executive Board. Comparable as a labor coalition coordinating organizing, strike support, and worker advocacy across the same Chicago geography and partner base.
• Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR): Statewide immigrant rights coalition that provides resources Chicago JWJ links to on its solidarity page. Directly comparable as an advocacy coalition offering Know Your Rights support, family resources, and coalition organizing for immigrant communities in Illinois.
• Chicago Workers Collaborative: Chicago-based worker advocacy and workforce rights organization (Executive Director Jose Frausto serves on Chicago JWJ's board). Directly comparable as a Chicago-focused nonprofit helping low-wage and immigrant workers navigate labor rights and benefits access.

Emerging players

• Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United / One Fair Wage: National nonprofit advocating for restaurant and hospitality workers. Comparable in addressing low-wage worker exploitation and providing Know Your Rights resources, with overlap via the Shift Change Tracker tool Chicago JWJ promotes for hospitality workers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ChiJWJ
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChicagoJwJ
• Instagraminstagram.com/chicago_jwj
• TikToktiktok.com/@chicagojwj
• Xx.com/chicagojwj
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chicago-jobs-with-justice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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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 Chicago Jobs with Justice