If working people are going to build robust power in the 21^st century, women will be front and center in leading that change. You can be part of that next generation! The WILL Empower Apprenticeship Program is a paid opportunity for recent college graduates and rank-and-file activists to explore what it’s like to work for the labor and workers’ justice movement, and to gain the skills and knowledge you need to begin making a difference. 

Consider applying to be a 2019 WILL Empower apprentice. Applications are now open and are due April 15, 2019. Apprentices will begin work in September, 2019. Find out more in our information guide.   

WILL Empower apprentices work for 3-12 months with unions and worker organizations across the nation. The WILL Empower apprentices may work in a variety of capacities, including organizing, research, communications, politics, mobilization, and policy. Pay starts at $15 an hour.   

The inaugural apprentice class in 2018 included five apprentices at four host sites:  the North Carolina AFL-CIO (Raleigh); Jobs to Move America (New York); the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Washington, DC) and Jobs with Justice (Washington, DC).

Each WILL Empower apprentice has two female mentors, one inside the host organization and one who is external to the organization.  WILL Empower apprentices participate in an orientation and training in early September at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, before beginning their placements. 

“I left the gathering with a renewed commitment to fighting for economic, racial, and gender justice in my life/career and in what I hope and believe will be lifelong, supportive relationships with women who have already helped me become a better version of myself,” wrote Lorelei Christie in a blog post about her experience as a 2018 WILL Empower apprentice. 

WILL Empower (Women Innovating Labor Leadership) is a multi-pronged initiative designed to identify, nurture, and train a new generation of women. It is a joint project of Georgetown University’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor and Rutgers University SMLR’s Center for Innovation in Worker Organization.