Impacts
Impactful Victories
Over the last ten years the Strategic Organizing Center has been involved in some of the most important campaigns confronting corporate power. Working with unions, workers, shareholders, consumers and other allies, these are some of the successful initiatives we have supported where workers and unions have won Power at Work.
Starbucks Workers Win Labor Peace
In March of 2024 over 10,000 Starbucks baristas won a landmark agreement. The settlement followed more than two years of organizing, strikes, shareholder votes and other actions at the company. The victory, heralded by observers inside and outside the labor movement as historic, includes Starbucks commitment to the establishment of a fair organizing process, settlement of outstanding labor law violation complaints and a contract that will serve as a pattern for all unionized stores.
Microsoft Agrees To Union Neutrality at Activision-Blizzard
Microsoft struck a union neutrality agreement with the Communications Workers of America that allows tech workers at the company’s Activision-Blizzard subsidiary to organize their union without employer interference. Over 1,750 video game workers have already organized under this agreement.
The Fight for $15 Raises Wages for Millions
We supported this 10-year effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, focusing on low wage workers in the fast-food industry. Today over 24 million workers have won $150 billion in raises through the Fight for $15.
Advancing Workers Capital
The SOC’s shareholder advocacy program, the SOC Investment Group, holds corporations and their leadership accountable for irresponsible and unethical corporate behavior, reflecting the long-term interests of workers and their families invested in union pension funds. Working with other shareholders, the Investment Group has forced many companies to reform their governance, racial equity, labor, and other practices, and impacted the composition of their boards of directors.
Cutting Edge Research and Campaign Resources
We have worked to support campaigns in a variety of ways, including surveying workers, filing regulatory complaints, and collaborating on protest activities. Our research reports have provided powerful critiques of corporate misconduct and highlighted the workers’ demands for change.
