Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL)

Organization Summary

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL) is a worker-led organization where workers organize, educate, and empower each other to fight for a voice in their workplaces and in their communities. We partner with other organizations and leaders to build a movement to win racial, gender, and economic justice. We identify the root causes of injustice and work to shift the balance of power between those who have it and those who don’t to improve the lives of our communities for present and future generations. Visit our website at ctul.net to learn more about our work.

CTUL focuses on organizing the most vulnerable workers in our economy to take on the .1% corporations who currently decide how the Minnesota economy functions. Where workers have little to no access to joining unions, CTUL innovates strategies with workers that help create new vehicles for workers to build power and have a voice on the job. In an economy where the top financial players hide from accountability behind walls of laws they have created to protect themselves, CTUL builds strategies to hold them accountable for the conditions of those who create their wealth. Over the last 16 years, CTUL has made the impossible possible by winning systemic changes in industries where it was thought impossible to organize. This work has improved the lives of thousands of workers by winning back over $7 million dollars in stolen wages, winning wage increases that bring $883 million dollars PER YEAR back into the poorest communities in the Twin Cities, passing policy that protects workers from further exploitation and imprisoned labor brokers for some of the most egregious conditions of labor trafficking. Over the next ten years, CTUL will be breaking barriers into new territory for workers to have a voice in the construction industry and with service workers in Downtown Minneapolis using the Building Dignity and Respect Program and Labor Standards Boards.

Position Summary

The Executive Director will lead the staff in implementing the Board of Directors’ mission and vision for CTUL. This includes overseeing staff to ensure that fundraising strategy and goals are completed, CTUL’s organizing theory of change is understood by staff and members, compliance issues are addressed and internal systems are in line with the work. This position will also seek out and identify new opportunities, relationships and strategies to innovate and carry out our mission as the landscape around us changes. The Executive Director is responsible for building partnerships with ally groups, serving as an external ambassador for CTUL, and is its chief fundraiser.

Salary & Benefits

CTUL has a tiered salary range set by the Staff and Board based on the principles of economic justice and inclusion. This salaried position is currently compensated at $77,000-$90,000 per year with an annual raise of 3%, dependent on the budget. This full-time position will normally work 40 hours per week, including some work on evenings and weekends. Benefits include: 3 weeks paid vacation, unlimited sick days, 5 recuperation days, 19 paid holidays, 90% employer-paid medical and dental insurance for you and your immediate family, 100% employer-paid vision, life and disability insurance, a monthly phone stipend, and an annual end of year bonus of 5% of your annual salary which can be used towards a retirement fund. 

Responsibilities (Essential duties & responsibilities may include but are not limited to the following)

• Leadership & Management
  • Create, sow and cultivate a vision for the organization’s future based on the mission, core organizing principles, and theory of change of the organization; inspire others to join CTUL in realizing this vision.
  • Deeply explore and absorb the landscape of need and opportunity both within the organization and externally.
  • Actively engage and energize the Board of Directors, volunteers, community leaders and partners in support of the organization’s mission, campaigns and programs.
    • Develop, maintain, and support a strong Board of Directors; seek and build Board involvement with strategic priorities.
    • Develop, mentor, inspire and work effectively with workers, staff, volunteers and community leaders to grow their involvement in the organization.
    • Establish and maintain relationships with external partners including community groups, unions, organizations, policymakers, and other key strategic allies.
  • Ensure that the organization has a long-range strategy which achieves CTUL’s mission; ensure that plans and priorities are aligned with the vision.
    • Define success and ensure progress towards goals; oversee timelines and resources needed to achieve strategic goals and priorities.
    • Ensure ongoing program excellence; develop evaluation methods that are realistic and support ongoing learning and planning.
  • Accountable for risk management, both proactively building plans to avoid unnecessary risks and responding to issues when they happen.
  • Maintain a working knowledge of significant developments and trends in the field and use this knowledge to identify innovations that may lead to strengthening our strategies.
  • Maintain a climate that attracts, retains and motivates a diverse staff, workers and coalition members to succeed together.
  • Work with management and the staff union to ensure that the collective bargaining agreement is correctly implemented and that the ongoing relationship with the staff union is positive and productive.

• Finance and Administration
  • Understand the needs and requirements for ensuring sound organizational management – build and maintain infrastructure as the organization grows.
  • Responsible for the fiscal integrity of CTUL, including partnering with the Board of Directors and the Finance Lead to ensure the annual budget is developed and approved, that the organization is operating within the approved budget, and that fiscal practices comply with generally accepted accounting principles. 

• Fundraising & Communications
  • Ensure the development and implementation of fundraising and communications plans that are compelling and motivate others to be active and support CTUL and campaigns.
  • Explore and build partnerships and relationships with the funders, policymakers, organizations, donors and community leaders to expand involvement and support.
  • Represent the programs and point of view of the organization to members, agencies, organizations, media and the general public.

Qualifications

• Commitment to CTUL’s mission and vision.
• Experience with and understanding of labor and movement work.
• Ability to think and act resourcefully and strategically; ability to pivot in changing conditions while maintaining discipline in our campaigns and programs.
• Willing to take strategic risks and build the necessary support to mitigate them.
• Possesses a strong and complex political and social analysis, experience putting analysis into strategic action.
  • Ability to navigate the complex intersections of racial, gender, and class and other dynamics of power.
  • Results-driven success engaging and including workers or constituents with meaningful participation and authentic influence in campaigns and the organization.
  • Ability to connect workers’ rights to a wide variety of issues and needs, while maintaining focus on CTUL’s mission.
  • Ability to lead the organization to create a bold long-term strategic vision that pushes the boundaries of what is possible, while also effectively measuring internal capacity.
• Political and interpersonal savvy; skilled at working in systems and with people.
  • Political expertise, ability to navigate politics within the government and in our community.
  • Good communicator with a variety of audiences; ability to effectively communicate information and ideas to elected officials and workers. 
• Confident and compassionate manager; experience bringing out the best in others through supervision and mentoring.
• Ability to navigate conflict in a generative way that gets results and strengthens organizational culture
• Understands the fundamentals of fundraising.
• Experience in developing and managing budgets, administration, and supervising staff. 
• Bilingual in Spanish and English strongly preferred, but not required. 
• 5-10 years’ experience in non-profit or labor union  management or equivalent, including supervision.

How to Apply

Submit a resume and cover letter to [email protected] using the subject line “CTUL Executive Director.” Position open until filled. 

CTUL is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from people of color as well as persons with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals, women, immigrants, folks from working class backgrounds, and formerly incarcerated people.