As I travel throughout the country, I see that young people today are hungry to fight for social change. However, there are few avenues where they can get the concrete skills they need to be successful organizers. As an Advisor since this program's inception, I have participated in many training activities, and have seen this program successfully use a mix of online and in-person tools to teach the fundamentals of organizing including volunteer recruitment, agitation, and follow-up. This training empowers young leaders, strengthening our movements for justice particularly in the places in the country where it's needed the most. I hope you join me in supporting this training program.

We desperately need a new generation of organizers for political campaigns, voter registration, union and community-based organizations. Over the years, I have learned that to train good organizers it is not enough to put them through a one-week class on organizing. What is needed is close mentoring of would-be organizers as they engage in the actual work. This is what VRS and Base Building for Power does and does well. As a result, they are changing lives and producing skilled and dedicated organizers, largely young people of color. Not only are they producing the next generation of organizers but at the same time they are building the base for progressive political campaigns. Their work deserves our support.

Our VRS and Base Building for Power Organizers are young and passionate about the work, but they have also come to us with a good foundation of what it takes to win a campaign, and how to get there. We have certified two new workplaces since they joined our team, only a few months ago. They were also an important part of getting a 98% strike authorization vote against one of our largest employers, Safeway. Labour organizing takes developing good worker leaders, but also having a team of skilled staff Organizers that know how to develop those workers and can continue to motivate them through challenging campaign moments – and that’s exactly what they’ve done.

The organizers that come out of VRS and Base Building for Power have a keen sense of how, when, and where to approach folks to have structured organizing conversations. This is incredibly helpful with coaching other new organizers and reading the situation to know when to push forward with an ask, how to follow up, and when to redirect the conversation in a tight spot.

In labour organizing with students, I have found VRS and Base Building for Power trainees to be some of the union card signers and generally draw in more folks to join inside committees and connect with the hard to see issues outliers have. 100% would work with these folks again and I look forward to the positive impacts they have on their peers and campaigns.

VRS and Base Building for Power bring the highly skilled fundamentals of in person, on the ground organizing with house meetings, canvassing and 1 on 1 connection. It is just what we need to build our movements and win elections. In an era of Covid isolation, of Zoom calls and social media, it is critical to restore the personal connection that impacts elections the most. We win when we get folks connected, engaged and mobilized. VRS and Base Building for Power experienced trainers and volunteers to do just that.

Successful field operations make the difference between winning and losing. As we head towards the most important elections of our lives, we need people who can hit the ground running. That is what VRS and Base Building for Power does best - training young people who can recruit volunteers to go door to door and talk with their neighbors. These organizers will be key to motivating and mobilizing young people to go out and vote in 2024. VRS and Base Building for Power convert passion into power, equipping a diverse team of young leaders with the tools they need to effectively push for a more equitable society. I am a proud supporter and advisor and strongly encourage others to work with them.

The rise of white supremacy and right wing extremism, attacks on immigrants and communities of color, and the deterioration of our reproductive rights requires urgent movement building. This program is connecting with and training the next generation of organizers to be effective agents for change, adding training capacity to grassroots organizations by connecting them with trained organizers empowered with skills and ready to fight. This program continues to support the young organizers in their journey by providing ongoing mentorship, training, and community building.

The craft of organizing is hard and it takes time. I appreciate the work of VRS and Base Building for Power because they focus on training people to do the joyful and hard work of connecting with people, listening to their concerns, and engaging them in meaningful actions to change their lives. While there's a move to engage people online and in TV ads, we lose the true connection organizers can make when touching people's lives and politicizing them for the long term. These efforts are more needed than ever.

As the team held daily training in our Tucson Arizona office, I was able to witness the VRS and Base Building for Power training and feel the energy and hope for the future. It was exciting to see first-hand the experience the diverse group was getting through role-playing; and actual practice with base-building before the end of the cohort. The support and insights they received allowed them to have genuine conversations with people to identify actions and use proven methods for results. Honestly, it gave me hope for the future, seeing the young leaders grow in confidence and skills day by day. The labor movement needs people willing to fight, but also who know how to, and who are willing to do the challenging work of base building.

We hired many young and passionate VRS and Base Building for Power Organizers. They have come to us with a good foundation of what it takes to win a campaign, and how to get there. We have certified two new workplaces since they joined our team, only a few months ago. They were also an important part of getting a 98% strike authorization vote against one of our largest employers, Safeway. Labor organizing takes developing good worker leaders, but also having a team of skilled staff Organizers that know how to develop those workers and can continue to motivate them through challenging campaign moments – and that’s exactly what they’ve done.

We desperately need a new generation of organizers for political campaigns, voter registration, union and community-based organizations. Over the years, I have learned that to train good organizers it is not enough to put them through a one-week class on organizing. What is needed is close mentoring of would-be organizers as they engage in the actual work. This is what this program does and does well. As a result, they are changing lives and producing skilled and dedicated organizers, largely young people of color. Not only are they producing the next generation of organizers but at the same time they are building the base for progressive political campaigns. Their work deserves our support.

This program is needed now more than ever. In Los Angeles, I saw them train a team of organizers that are now successfully working in labor and community organizations throughout LA. The team organized 800 people for housing justice in just two months, contributing to the passage of United to House LA (Nov. 2022 LA City Prop ULA). It is a "mansion tax" set to provide $700-900 million a year to fight homelessness. Just as impressive is the personal transformation that many graduates have gone through. I have seen the organizers' confidence increasing with their skills, giving me a lot of hope for the future. And the team of trainers were great to work with too.

The organizers that come out of VRS and Base Building for Power have a keen sense of how, when, and where to approach folks to have structured organizing conversations. This is incredibly helpful with coaching other new organizers and reading the situation to know when to push forward with an ask, how to follow up, and when to redirect the conversation in a tight spot. I have found their organizers to be some of the best union card signers and generally draw in more folks to join inside committees and connect with the hard to see issues outliers have. 100% would work with these folks again and I look forward to the positive impacts they have on their peers and campaigns.

Our non profit in Vancouver has hired organizers from the VRS and Base Building for Power group to work on empowerment projects with low income tenants. These staff treat their projects as campaigns. The staff that I hired came primed to design their overarching goals, set and meet targets, identify other leaders, document their progress transparently and effectively to everyone around them, ask really good questions including naming obstacles that they see and they report effectively so that others can learn from them. They don’t shy away from huge challenges and they have an abundance of energy for the people focused work, such as the one on ones, the door knocking, and mobilizations). As a bonus I’ve realized that they continue to get mentorship support from VRS and BBFP even when they are working for us! As their supervisor, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them as potential staff to my closest allies.