About Us

Who we are

Drawing from sacred scriptures, Arise Chicago upholds the belief that every person is created in the image of God and therefore deserving of dignity and respect, including in the workplace. A diverse group of religious leaders came together in 1991 to create Arise Chicago as a model to combat root causes of poverty by bringing the moral voice to both non-union and union workplace struggles.

In 2002, we created the Arise Chicago Worker Center, providing a place for workers—primarily immigrants employed in manufacturing, food production, cleaning & maintenance, domestic work, construction, restaurant, and other industries— to get the training, organizing, legal, and other resources they need to win better workplaces and a better quality of life.

We're leaders in the national worker center movement of community-based organizations that organize non-union workers, primarily immigrants and workers of color, to create on-the-job power. Like many others, we also offer direct services and engage in public policy advocacy. Since the 1990s the number of worker centers has grown to more than 200 nationwide.