Summary: We are looking for an excited, creative, and motivated External Union Organizer with 0-2 years of basebuilding organizing experience. 

Location: Greater Pittsburgh or Philadelphia areas

Travel: This position requires very frequent travel around western PA.

Reports to: New Organizing Director

Supervises: N/A

About the organization: 

SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania is the largest and fastest-growing union of caregivers across the continuum of healthcare. We are the nurses, professional and technical employees, direct care, and service workers in Pennsylvania’s hospitals, nursing homes, home and community-based care services, and state health facilities. Together, we work to unite all nurses and healthcare workers, organize at work and in the community, drive public policy and legislation, and build a broad, strong movement for good jobs, quality care, and healthy communities across Pennsylvania.

Together, we advocate to protect patient care and expand access to quality health care for all. We fight to improve our working conditions and make sure that the healthcare industry creates more good, family-sustaining jobs. We organize in our communities for racial equality and social justice. We lift each other up and create pathways for ordinary nurses and healthcare workers to become extraordinary leaders for change.

We are part of SEIU, the largest union in the country and a leader of the Fight for $15. Together, we are taking on corporate power and helping to build a wider movement for economic, racial, immigrant, and environmental justice.

About the position: The External Organizer plays a key leadership role in SEIU Healthcare PA to help build the healthcare workers union across PA. The responsibility of the External Organizer includes leadership identification, recruiting, organizing, and mobilizing workers to participate in the movement to improve the lives of working people, our patients/consumers, and our communities and to build a more just and humane society.

Job responsibilities: 

• Coach workers to stand up for their rights and use their power in numbers to win;
• Identify, recruit, and train workers to become effective leaders;
• Plan and facilitate meetings, rallies, direct action, and other ways for workers to come together and exercise their collective power;
• Track and assess organization-building metrics;
• Develop a basic understanding of labor law and regulations affecting union organizing;
• Campaign creatively around healthcare problems and other public policy issues that impact workers;
• Create relationships with issue stakeholders and workers’ allies to advance our shared agenda;
• Help workers tell their stories through public speaking, video, social media, and other communications; 
• Use basic social media tools to effectively engage workers, build networks, and communicate;
• Lead workers into struggle so that they learn from their experience that their power
• comes from collective action;
• Identify and develop leaders to take on union leadership roles and help lead union activities and programs;
• Take initiative and be creative in developing new roles for members within the union and provide the support needed to be successful;
• Support contract negotiations, working closely and effectively with elected negotiating committees comprised of member leaders;
• Effectively organize their time and carry out their plan independently and with minimal supervision; 
• Other duties as needed.

Qualifications: 

• A strong, demonstrated commitment to racial, social, labor, and economic justice; 
• Comfort speaking and having one on one conversations with potential or current members; 
• Excellent verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds; 
• Comfort traveling to worksites and doing worker outreach alone; 
• Computer and basic social media literacy; 
• Ability to work independently and with minimal supervision; 
• Ability and willingness to travel and work long and irregular hours as the job requires; 
• Valid U.S. driver’s license and access to a reliable vehicle; 
• Previous base building organizing experience, paid or unpaid, highly preferred, but not required; 
• Knowledge of labor law, the bargaining process, and/or union regulations preferred, but not required; 
• Spanish fluency or proficiency preferred but not required. 

COVID-19 Vaccination requirement: Subject to applicable law, all prospective hires will be required to demonstrate that they have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or qualify for a medical or religious accommodation to this vaccination requirement. Hired candidates who are not vaccinated by the start of their employment and who have not been approved for a legally-required medical or religious accommodation will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment, in accordance with applicable law.