***DEADLINE EXTENDED***

WILL Empower is now recruiting the next generation of activists and apprenticeship host sites in preparation for its Fall 2021 class of apprentices.  The WILL Empower (Women Innovating Labor Leadership) 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 needed to begin making a difference.  The Apprenticeship Program allows movement organizations to invest in the next generation of a diverse leadership group and bring in fresh energy and talent to their organization.

• Prospective apprentices can find out more about being an apprentice and fill out an application here.
• Prospective host sites can find out more about hosting an apprentice and fill out an application here.

Deadline Extended: All applications are due on May 21, 2021.

WILL Empower apprentices will begin in the Fall, 2021, working 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 $17 an hour. 

WILL Empower apprentices have worked for: the National Black Workers Center Project in Raleigh, NC; The International Labour Organization-USA in Washington, DC; Jobs to Move America in Birmingham, AL and New York City; the NC State AFL-CIO in Raleigh, NC; the Memphis Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO in Memphis TN; the United Campus Workers / CWA in Nashville, TN; UNITE HERE Local 25 in Washington, DC; Bargaining for the Common Good Network in Washington, DC; the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Washington, DC; the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance in Washington, DC; Jobs with Justice in Washington, DC; and the Street Vendor Project in New York, NY.  Learn more about the 2020 apprentices here and the 2019 apprenticeship class here. 

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 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.