Worker's Rights

Work just isn’t working for too many in America today. Too often, hard-working people have their wages stolen by employers who refuse to pay the promised wage, the legally required wage, or sometimes any wage at all. Other employers cut too many corners, leaving workers vulnerable to being hurt, getting sick or even killed on the job. Injury and illness reduce workers’ ability to earn a living, compromise their overall health, and saddle workers and their families with expensive medical bills.

Workers often lack sufficient clout to negotiate for improved conditions, even though it is their right to do so. From 2010 through 2020, The Foundation’s Workers’ Rights Program has supported policy and system reforms to improve the lives of low-wage working people in the United States, with a focus on securing their basic legal rights to safe, healthy, and fair conditions at work.

While the Foundation is not giving new grants under this program area, there is still ongoing work to advance Workers’ Rights initiatives. Through the end of fiscal year 2017, Public Welfare Foundation has awarded approximately 409 grants totaling $67.5 million to 125 organizations to advance Workers’ Rights.