Rules of the Game: Advocacy for Labor and Economic Justice
Issues
Consumers, Equal Employment Opportunity, Workers
Topics
Affiliated Organizations, Ballot Measures, Executive Branch Advocacy, Influencing Legislation, Lobbying, Public Charity Advocacy
Today we’re wrapping up our eight-part series by exploring how labor and economic justice nonprofits can advance their missions through advocacy. We’ll cover recent developments and examine both lobbying and non-lobbying strategies that advocates are using to improve economic justice for all.
Attorneys for This Episode
- Tim Mooney
- Susan Finkle-Sourlis
- Sarah Efthymiou
Current Events/Executive Orders
Trump Administration Directives Impacting Workers
- In March, President Trump issued an executive order exempting national security agencies from the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. The EO revokes collective bargaining rights for over a million federal workers, hindering their ability to organize and improve working conditions.
- In January 2025, an executive order paused the planned increase of the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $17/hour, reversing wage gains for thousands of low-wage employees.
- In March 2025, another executive order directed the Department of Labor to halt enforcement of protections against misclassification for independent contractors, adopting a worker-unfriendly test that limits employee eligibility for wage and hour protections.
Illegal ICE & DHS Workplace Raids
- ICE, racing to fulfill the Trump Administration’s goal to increase deportations, is increasingly targeting work sites for immigration sweeps in LA and other major cities. In addition to loss of essential income for workers who are afraid to show up for work, this escalation is a chilling effect on businesses and local communities.
Non-Lobbying Advocacy
Advocacy can take many forms, and lobbying is just one form. Your organization can engage in non-lobbying activities like: Organizing, educating the public, conducting research, executive branch and regulatory activities, training and litigation are just a few examples.
- Educating the public
- Nonprofits that support immigrant workers, such as The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), are sharing “know your rights” info, so workers are better prepared if stopped by immigration officials. Other groups provide information for employers, such as the National Employment Law Project’s What to do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace.
- Identify & advocate to supportive government officials
- Find your allies in government and encourage them to continue to defend their communities. Many nonprofits have lauded Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s public criticism of the federal government’s actions in LA, describing the deployment of military forces to the city as an overreach and a violation of state sovereignty.
- Holding a rally
- In February, federal workers organized coordinated “Save Our Services Day of Action” events in multiple cities to build a broader network of support and to put pressure on the administration and Congress to block the illegal firing of fed workers
- Litigation as advocacy
- A multi-state coalition of nonprofits, unions, and local governments sued the Trump Administration over mass layoffs of federal workers without approval of Congress.
Lobbying
- Pro-Worker Legislation
- Nevada’s state legislature is currently considering expanding their existing Paid Family & Medical Leave program beyond state employees
- Ballot Initiatives
- Coming on the heels of several key wins in 2024 (Alaska, Missouri, and AZ), already seeing upcoming ballot measures
- A potential Ohio Nov 2025 ballot initiative to increase minimum wage to $15/hour; and Oklahoma qualified June 2026 ballot measure to increase the state’s minimum wage to $15/hour
Resources
- Practical Guidance: What Your Nonprofit Needs to Know About Lobbying in Your State