STAND for a Livable Wage

June Cohort Now Forming

Compensation is a foundational issue: our pay, benefits, and working conditions drive the conditions of our lives.  If we are underpaid, we lose self-confidence, respect, and carry fear and anxiety, degrading our lives. If the pay does not afford us a reasonable living, we feel trapped and demoralized. If we perceive that there are no options, we get depressed, then we get activated.

STAND for a Livable Wage is a three-workshop series that helps participants build the knowledge, skills, knowledge, and perspective we need to advocate for fair compensation. The series moves through three dimensions: personal, economic, and civic. It begins with the personal -- confidence, self-awareness, and the assumptions and self-limiting beliefs we carry about our own worth in the workplace. From there, participants develop the economic agency to engage employers as peers rather than supplicants: researching total compensation and working conditions, negotiating for a livable wage, and building a long-term financial plan that supports a safety net, homeownership, family, and a secure retirement.

The series closes with the civic dimension - labor history, the current policy landscape, and collective strategies that can shape wage conditions not just for individuals, but for everyone. 

Most programs pick one lane. This one doesn't. Our model includes a small bit of self-study and short assignments, and a live small group meeting on a weeknight or weekend. Each program is four weeks, so the series is three months. Working with other participants is the key to program quality: you’ll learn from others, get creative support, and accountability to move forward. It’s the model that builds confidence to grow.

Participants move through the series as a cohort, building relationships and shared context as you go. After the workshops, the cohort has the option to form small learning groups matched to individual needs and goals: support for job hunting, practice negotiating, working to support livable wage efforts, or whatever emerges. While the groups continue their work, the cohort will be supported and can reconvene periodically to share progress and sustain the connections.

We're recruiting now for the June cohort. Space is limited.