CHICAGO COMMUNITY AND WORKERS RIGHTS

What CHICAGO COMMUNITY AND WORKERS RIGHTS does

Chicago Community and Workers Rights (CCWR) is a nonprofit, worker-led organization headquartered in Chicago that educates, organizes, and provides direct support to low-wage workers, with a particular focus on Chicago's Latino community. Its core programs include worker rights education, workplace issue campaigns, legal accompaniment to recover unpaid or stolen wages, policy and legislative advocacy, and a recently launched Worker Cooperative Program supporting the formation of worker-owned businesses. The organization operates a grassroots organizing model with bilingual (English/Spanish) capacity and is integrated into broader coalitions including Raise The Floor Alliance and The Resurrection Project, alongside formal roles such as a seat on the City of Chicago's Community Wealth Building Advisory Council.

Operationally, CCWR delivers all services free of charge to workers and does not run a fee-for-service or commercial revenue model. It is funded by donations and grants from philanthropic and public sources, with cumulative disclosed impact including $10M+ in recovered wages, 6,000+ workers served, 100+ campaigns run, and 6 laws influenced, as reported in its 2025 Annual Report. The organization is staffed by approximately 10 people and has no disclosed technology platform, software products, or proprietary technical systems; its core "products" are educational toolkits, organizing campaigns, and direct casework rather than software or services sold to third parties.

Strategically, CCWR's positioning combines service delivery (wage recovery, worker education), movement-building (community organizing and coalition work), and policy influence (legislative advocacy at the Illinois and Chicago municipal levels). Its growth path appears to run through deeper institutional integration into municipal economic policy and expansion of its cooperative development and educational resource lines, rather than through scaling a commercial product or geographic franchise.

Name

CHICAGO COMMUNITY AND WORKERS RIGHTS

Legal name

Chicago Community and Workers Rights

Website

https://chicagoworkersrights.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chicago Community and Workers Rights is a Chicago-based, worker-led nonprofit that educates, organizes, and advocates for low-wage workers — primarily in the Latino community — through campaigns, wage recovery, policy advocacy, and worker cooperative development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

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. Donations and Grants: As a nonprofit workers' rights organization, CCWR relies on donations and grants to fund operations and programs. The organization has an Annual Report 2025 and accepts donations through their website.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CCWR is a worker-led nonprofit that educates workers about their rights, develops leadership, and provides organizing tools and collective resistance strategies against employer abuse. It delivers free services including the Toolkit for Workers (English and Spanish), worker/immigrant rights presentations, migrant information broadcasts, housing legal aid referrals, and the Cooperativa de Trabajadores program supporting worker cooperative formation.

Product overview

Chicago Community and Workers Rights (CCWR) operates as a worker-led nonprofit offering a unified suite of educational resources and support services rather than a commercial tech product. The portfolio centers on worker rights advocacy materials including the Toolkit for Workers (English and Spanish), worker/immigrant rights presentations, and migrant information broadcasts. Additional offerings include housing legal aid connections, and the Cooperativa de Trabajadores program supporting worker cooperative formation. The organization also publishes annual reports documenting impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Toolkit for Workers (English) A comprehensive resource toolkit providing workers with information about their rights, legal protections, and strategies for defending against employer abuse. Available for free on the CCWR website.
• Kit de Herramientas para Trabajadores (Spanish Toolkit) Spanish-language version of the comprehensive worker resource toolkit covering rights, legal protections, and defense strategies for the primarily Spanish-speaking worker community.
• Derechos de los Trabajadores y los Inmigrantes (Workers and Immigrants Rights Presentation) Educational PowerPoint presentation covering worker and immigrant rights in Illinois, used to educate workers about their legal protections.
• Radio: Boletín Migrante Videos Video content series providing information for migrant workers about their rights and resources.
• Radio: Boletín Migrante Audios Audio content series delivering information for migrant workers about their rights and available resources.
• Derechos de los Trabajadores (Workers' Rights Information) Worker rights information page detailing Illinois labor law protections including minimum wage, overtime, and temporary worker protections.
• Cook County Legal Aid for Tenants and Landlords Legal aid resources connecting renters and landlords with housing-related legal assistance in Cook County.
• Cooperativa de Trabajadores (Worker Cooperative Program) Program advising, educating, and supporting the creation and development of worker-owned cooperatives, including consultation and guidance on cooperative business models.

Quantifiable outcome

• $10,000,000+ in wages recovered for workers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

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 supporting.

• Raise The Floor AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative alliance focused on fighting for workers' rights and better labor conditions in the Chicago area.
• The Resurrection ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partnership focused on immigrant and worker rights advocacy.
• Greater Lawndale Healthy Work ProgramsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram focused on healthy work environments and worker well-being in the Greater Lawndale area.
• Chicago Food Worker Justice AlliancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance focused specifically on food system workers' rights and justice issues.
• Chicago's Good Food Purchasing Initiative (GFPI)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiative promoting ethical food purchasing practices and worker-friendly food systems.
• City of Chicago's Community Wealth Building Advisory CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial city council advising on community wealth building strategies including cooperative development.
• Illinois Worker Cooperative AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide alliance supporting and developing worker-owned cooperatives, CCWR collaborates on cooperative formation and education.
• Chicago SEED CommonscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational network providing loan funds and support for cooperative development. CCWR receives support and collaborates on cooperative initiatives.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Resurrection Project: Chicago-based Latino community organization advancing immigrant rights, workers' rights, and community wealth building. Direct peer and active CCWR partner with overlapping mission and constituent base.
• Arise Chicago: Faith-rooted, worker-led organization in Chicago organizing low-wage and immigrant workers for better wages and working conditions. Direct peer given overlapping Chicago geography, worker-center model, and focus on Latino/immigrant workers.
• Chicago Workers Collaborative: Chicago-based worker center that organizes low-wage and immigrant workers to address wage theft and workplace abuses. Direct peer with very similar service portfolio, target population, and community organizing approach.
• Raise the Floor Alliance: Chicago-based coalition of worker centers and labor groups focused on low-wage worker rights and policy advocacy. Direct peer — CCWR is a core member and both organizations co-organize campaigns and policy work in the same geography.

Emerging players

• National Domestic Workers Alliance: National alliance organizing domestic and care workers for labor protections and policy change. Comparable as a worker-led, member-driven advocacy organization in adjacent industry verticals; less Chicago-specific overlap.
• Centro de los Derechos del Migrante: Latino-led organization advocating for the rights of migrant workers in the U.S. Highly comparable mission focus on migrant worker rights and bilingual advocacy, though geographically focused on East Coast/other states.
• Restaurant Opportunities United (ROC): Restaurant worker center that organizes for wages, working conditions, and policy reform in the food industry. Comparable worker-center model and policy advocacy, though focused on a single industry vertical.

Broad incumbents

• Jobs With Justice: National worker rights coalition supporting campaigns for living wages, collective bargaining, and labor law reform. Broader incumbent organization with overlapping advocacy themes at national scale.
• Interfaith Worker Justice (now Worker Justice Center of NY affiliates): National network of interfaith worker centers, including Chicago-area affiliates, focused on low-wage worker rights. Broader incumbent with national scope; CCWR operates similarly but at a hyper-local, Latino-focused level.
• AFL-CIO Working America: AFL-CIO's community affiliate organizing non-union workers around workplace issues and progressive policy. Broad incumbent with similar target audience but operates at national scale and as part of the larger labor movement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtiktok.com/@chicagoworkersr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZN60YIcq99nXokrOFXhg8w
• FacebookFacebook.com/chicagoworkersrights
• InstagramInstagram.com/chicagoworkersr
• TikToktiktok.com/@chicagoworkersr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chicago-community-and-workers-rights

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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