Three Organizations That Are Truly Transforming Work Rather Than Simply Training Workers

What if the solution to poverty isn't teaching workers new skills, but actually making their jobs worth having? That's the shift happening across America right now, and it's about time.

Key Takeaways

• Organizations are moving away from "fixing workers" toward fixing the fundamental problems with work itself
• Job quality means different things in different contexts, but worker voice and dignity remain universal needs
• Successful job quality work requires blending direct action, policy advocacy, and long-term systems change
• Local governments and universities play crucial but underutilized roles in improving workplace standards
• Employee ownership models are gaining traction as wealth-building strategies for working-class communities
• Real progress takes years or decades, but small wins create momentum for bigger transformations
• Worker leadership and authentic community engagement drive the most sustainable improvements
• Business engagement works best when you listen first and meet employers where they are
• Data and storytelling both matter - you need hard numbers and human narratives to create change
• Even in challenging political climates, grassroots organizing continues to win concrete victories

Here's what I've learned from spending time with three organizations that are actually moving the needle on job quality. They're not just talking about change - they're making it happen, one workplace at a time.

The Big Picture Problem We're Really Facing

Let's be honest about what we're dealing with here. We've got workers in foundational jobs - the people who deliver our food, care for our elderly parents, process our meat, clean our buildings - and they're still not making enough to get by. We're talking about people working full-time jobs who can't afford basic housing, healthcare, or childcare.

But here's what really gets me: this isn't some inevitable result of market forces or technological change. These are choices. Choices that businesses make, that policymakers make, that we as a society make about how we value different kinds of work and different kinds of people.

• The "fixing workers" approach has dominated for decades - endless job training programs, skills development initiatives, and bootstrap narratives that put all the responsibility on individual workers to adapt to bad jobs
• Meanwhile, the jobs themselves stayed terrible - low wages, unpredictable schedules, dangerous conditions, no benefits, and workers treated like disposable resources rather than human beings
• Systemic issues get ignored when we focus only on worker deficits - discrimination, wage theft, safety violations, and power imbalances that make it nearly impossible for individual workers to advocate for themselves
• The COVID pandemic exposed just how essential these "low-skilled" jobs really are - suddenly everyone could see that grocery store clerks, home health aides, and delivery drivers were keeping society functioning
• Rising inflation and political division have made these problems even more urgent - families that were barely getting by before are now facing impossible choices between rent, food, and healthcare
• Traditional safety nets are weakening - union membership continues to decline, government programs face constant attacks, and many workers have nowhere to turn when employers violate their rights

What strikes me most about this moment is how the organizations doing this work understand something fundamental: the design and outcomes of our economy aren't inevitable. Behind every terrible job is a series of decisions that created those conditions. Which means different decisions can create different outcomes.

Three Different Approaches, One Shared Vision

I had the chance to hear from three practitioners who are approaching job quality work from completely different angles, but they're all working toward the same goal: an economy where good jobs become the standard, not the exception.

Renice Walker runs systems innovation at the Colorado Workforce Development Council. She's working within state government to shift how we think about workforce development - moving beyond just training individuals to actually improving the jobs they're training for.

Evan Edwards leads Project Equity, a national organization that's transitioning businesses from traditional ownership to employee ownership models. His approach is about building wealth for workers while keeping businesses rooted in their communities.

Adam Kader directs policy work at ARISE Chicago, a worker organization that combines direct action, legal advocacy, and policy change to improve conditions for immigrant workers in low-wage industries.

• Each organization defines job quality differently based on their context and community - but they all emphasize worker voice, dignity, and the power to influence workplace conditions
• They all recognize that this work sits at the intersection of policy and practice - you can't just change laws without changing workplace culture, and you can't just organize individual workplaces without addressing systemic issues
• None of them work alone - successful job quality work requires partnerships across sectors, from faith communities to universities to local government
• They all understand this is long-term systems change work - victories might take years or decades, but each small win creates momentum for bigger transformations
• Worker leadership is central to all their approaches - whether it's employee-owners learning to read financial statements or immigrant workers leading campaigns for bathroom breaks
• They meet people where they are - recognizing that both workers and employers are starting from different places and need different kinds of support to engage in this work

What Workplace Democracy Actually Looks Like in Practice

Adam's work with ARISE Chicago really opened my eyes to how workplace authoritarianism shows up in everyday situations. We're talking about workers wearing diapers because they're not allowed bathroom breaks. Workers standing in freezing cold factories making tortillas for the entire Midwest because there's no heat. Multiple workers losing fingers to faulty machinery while employers ignore safety concerns.

This isn't ancient history - this is happening right now in American workplaces. And the only thing that changes these conditions is workers organizing collectively to demand better.

• Direct action means workers approaching employers as a group - individual complaints get ignored, but when workers act together, employers have to pay attention
• Sometimes that escalation includes work stoppages - like the candy factory workers who didn't get bathroom breaks until they coordinated a production shutdown that forced their employer to negotiate
• "Health strikes" became a crucial tool during the pandemic - workers walking off jobs when employers refused to provide protective equipment or information about infected coworkers
• Legal action provides another avenue when direct action isn't enough - connecting workers with attorneys who can take employers to court for rights violations
• Government enforcement partnerships amplify worker power - Chicago's Office of Labor Standards works with community organizations to reach workers and educate them about their rights
• Faith community support adds moral authority to worker campaigns - congregations from different traditions understand that workers' rights are human rights and provide crucial accompaniment during actions
• Immigrant rights organizations provide essential solidarity - understanding that attacks on immigrant workers undermine conditions for all workers, regardless of citizenship status

What's powerful about this approach is how it builds worker leadership over time. People who've never seen themselves as leaders learn to analyze their workplace problems, develop strategies, and take collective action. They discover they have more power than they realized.

Employee Ownership as a Wealth-Building Strategy

Evan's work with Project Equity tackles job quality from a completely different angle - what if workers actually owned the businesses where they work? It sounds radical, but it's happening more than you might think.

The basic idea is simple: when long-time business owners are ready to retire, instead of selling to the highest bidder or closing down, they transition ownership to their workforce. Workers become shareholders, participate in governance, and share in profits.

• Three primary models of employee ownership provide different options - Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), worker cooperatives, and employee ownership trusts each work better for different types of businesses
• Project Equity provides end-to-end support for transitions - from identifying succession-ready businesses to providing capital to buy out retiring owners to helping new worker-owners learn business management skills
• Their "Deep Impact" work focuses on businesses with workforces that meet their equity objectives - prioritizing transitions that will build wealth for workers of color, women, and other groups that have been excluded from business ownership
• They work to normalize employee ownership within the broader business ecosystem - training advisors, engaging with economic development officials, and creating learning content to spread awareness
• Local government partnerships help retain businesses in communities - legacy businesses that have operated for 20-25 years typically employ one in three workers and account for two-thirds of economic activity
• Worker education is crucial for successful transitions - through their "Thrive" program, they spend two years after transitions teaching worker-owners how to read financial statements and participate in governance
• AI-powered platforms are helping scale the work - partnering with technology startups to create tools that can facilitate more employee ownership transactions

What I find most interesting about this approach is how it addresses both wealth inequality and job quality simultaneously. When workers own shares in their company, they have a real stake in making sure the business succeeds - which creates incentives for good management, safe working conditions, and sustainable business practices.

Government's Role in Creating Good Jobs

Renice's work in Colorado shows what's possible when state and local governments decide to be more than just neutral observers in the job quality conversation. Instead of just focusing on training workers for whatever jobs exist, they're asking: what can government do to ensure the jobs themselves are worth having?

The Colorado approach starts with government leading by example. If the state wants private employers to offer good jobs, it needs to model those practices in its own hiring and employment policies.

• Skills-based hiring removes unnecessary credential barriers - examining which job requirements actually relate to job performance and eliminating those that just exclude qualified candidates
• Apprenticeships and earn-while-you-learn programs - providing pathways for advancement that don't require workers to stop earning while they gain new skills
• The governor's executive orders on employee ownership - raising awareness and encouraging transitions to worker cooperative and employee ownership models
• Local workforce boards educate employers about competitive practices - providing benchmarking data so businesses can see how their wages and benefits compare to competitors
• Economic development incentives can be tied to job quality standards - using public investments to encourage businesses to adopt better employment practices
• Grant funding prioritizes job quality improvements - requiring applicants to demonstrate how their projects will improve working conditions, not just create more jobs
• Data collection helps track progress over time - measuring job quality across multiple dimensions, not just wage levels, to understand what's actually improving
• Regional approaches recognize local context matters - what works in Denver might not work in rural Colorado, so strategies need to be adapted to local economic conditions

The talent pipeline report they produce annually is a great example of how data can drive policy conversations. Instead of just celebrating job creation numbers, they're asking: which jobs actually provide living wages? Which industries are creating pathways to economic mobility? Where are the biggest opportunities for improvement?

Building Partnerships That Actually Work

One thing that comes through clearly in all three organizations' work is how much they rely on partnerships. None of them could accomplish their goals working alone - they need allies across different sectors who bring different resources and expertise.

Universities play several important roles beyond just conducting research. Business schools could be teaching future managers about employee ownership models and high-road business strategies. Community-facing programs housed on campuses can provide workshops and technical assistance. And universities are major employers themselves - they could model good job practices for facilities management workers, food service staff, and other employees.

• Research partnerships help legitimize worker concerns - when community organizations document problems like wage theft, university studies provide additional credibility with policymakers
• Best practices documentation helps spread successful strategies - academic researchers can identify what's working in different communities and help connect similar efforts
• Curriculum development brings new ideas into business education - teaching future entrepreneurs and managers about shared ownership models and high-road employment practices
• Universities as anchor institutions have significant economic impact - their hiring and procurement decisions affect thousands of workers in their communities
• Professional development programs can reach working professionals - continuing education for CPAs, economic development staff, and other advisors who work with businesses
• Student engagement builds the next generation of advocates - young people are already more amenable to shared ownership models than previous generations

Local government partnerships work differently depending on the political context, but there are opportunities everywhere. Even in challenging political environments, local officials often understand that business retention and economic development require good jobs that keep workers in the community.

What Progress Actually Looks Like

Here's the thing about job quality work that I think people don't always understand: the big victories that make headlines are usually the result of years or decades of organizing, relationship-building, and incremental progress.

Take the union election Adam mentioned - workers at a construction materials factory dealing with broken limbs, amputations, and workplace fires. They tried everything: signing letters, meeting with management, getting elected officials to intervene. Nothing worked until they decided to organize collectively for union representation.

• Individual worker complaints get ignored, but collective action demands response - employers can dismiss one worker's concerns, but they have to take a united workforce seriously
• Safety violations often provide the clearest evidence of poor job quality - when people are literally losing fingers at work, it's hard to argue that conditions are acceptable
• Multiple strategies working together create more pressure than any single approach - combining direct action, legal advocacy, and government enforcement multiplies the impact
• Victories inspire other workers to take action - when one group of workers wins improvements, it shows others that change is possible
• Building solidarity across difference strengthens everyone - immigrant and US-born workers, people from different backgrounds, all benefit when working conditions improve
• Long-term relationship-building sustains movements beyond individual campaigns - organizations that stick around for decades can support multiple generations of worker leaders

For employee ownership, progress looks different but follows similar patterns. Evan talks about how awareness has shifted dramatically in just eight years - from almost no one knowing about the "silver tsunami" of retiring baby boomer business owners to daily conversations with advisors and owners who see employee ownership as a viable succession strategy.

The Communications Challenge We All Face

One thing that really struck me in these conversations was how much all three organizations emphasize storytelling and narrative change. Data and research matter, but stories connect with people in ways that statistics alone never will.

Renice talked about the Denver International Airport bringing together multiple employers to address childcare as a shared challenge. That's not just a nice story - it's a model for how employers can collaborate on job quality improvements that benefit everyone.

• Detailed success stories show how change actually happens - not just celebrating the outcome, but explaining the steps that got them there
• Worker voices carry more weight than expert analysis - when people hear directly from workers about their experiences, it's harder to dismiss the problems
• Business leaders sharing their experiences can influence other employers - peer-to-peer education often works better than outside pressure
• Data visualization helps make abstract problems concrete - showing wage comparisons, safety violation trends, and other metrics in accessible formats
• Local media coverage amplifies organizing campaigns - getting workplace problems covered in community newspapers and local television builds public support
• Social media allows direct communication with workers - bypassing traditional gatekeepers to share information about rights and resources
• Academic research provides credibility for policy arguments - having university studies backing up community organizing helps with legislative advocacy

The narrative shift from "fixing workers" to "fixing work" might seem subtle, but it's actually revolutionary. It moves us away from individual blame and toward systemic solutions. Instead of asking why workers don't have the right skills, we ask why jobs don't provide living wages.

Moving Forward: What We All Can Do

The most hopeful thing about this conversation was hearing how many different ways people can contribute to job quality work. You don't have to be a professional organizer or policy expert to make a difference.

If you work for a large institution - a hospital, university, corporation - you can advocate for better practices with contracted services. Those security guards, food service workers, and cleaning staff deserve good jobs too.

If you're involved in local government, you can ask questions about economic development incentives. Are public investments creating good jobs or just any jobs? Are businesses that receive public support held accountable for their employment practices?

If you run a business yourself, you can model the practices you want to see. Pay living wages, provide predictable schedules, listen to worker feedback, and consider what business succession might look like if you involved your employees in ownership.

This isn't just about individual choices, though. The organizations doing this work need sustained support - financial contributions, volunteer time, and political solidarity when they face opposition.

What gives me hope is seeing how much energy there is around these issues right now. Young people especially seem more open to shared ownership models and less impressed by traditional entrepreneurial narratives. They understand that our current economic system isn't working for most people.

The question isn't whether we can create an economy that works for everyone - it's whether we'll choose to do the work required to get there. These three organizations are showing us what's possible when we stop accepting terrible jobs as inevitable and start building something better.