Workers and Communities Building Power Strategic Plan 2011- 2015

EBASE advances economic, racial and social justice by building a just economy in the East Bay based on good jobs and healthy communities. We address the root causes of economic injustice by developing strategic alliances among community, faith, and labor to build power and create change with low-income workers and communities of color. This strategic plan – created with input from EBASE’s board, staff, and allies – describes EBASE’s long-term vision and our model for creating change. It outlines the goals and priorities for our work over the next five years, 2011 to 2015, and our vision beyond that. EBASE’s board, staff, and leaders will use this strategic plan to evaluate and make decisions about current and potential work, using this document as a road map for the future. After celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2009, EBASE began to update our first strategic plan by reflecting on what was, and was not, working with our current model. We clearly had impact in our first decade — raising workplace standards, increasing job access, and boosting incomes for 20,000 East Bay workers. However, the recession placed real strains on our budget and staff. This forced us to focus our many campaigns and projects to have even greater impact. At the same time, a deepening internal commitment to diversity and racial justice led us to be more explicit about addressing race in our work.