ThatвЂ™s pretty radical stuff for a billionaire donor. Yet as of 2020, Pierre OmidyarвЂ™s been explicitly backing worker power through the Omidyar NetworkвЂ™s Reimagining Capitalism initiative, and pairing that with funding for causes like financial sector oversight, challenging monopolies, and questioning shareholder primacy. With the exception of a handful of progressive stalwarts like George Soros and Barbara Picower, the uber-rich tend to congregate predictably in the management camp and avoid labor funding. The Omidyar Network is an unusual labor movement funder in that itвЂ™s the giving vehicle of a living billionaire. Here are eight labor funders to keep an eye on right now. As elsewhere, collaborative funding around this issue is also on the rise. Others are relative newcomers, and that includes several uber-wealthy individuals - a group of donors who traditionally look askance at labor organizing. Many of the philanthropic funders behind new labor movement nonprofit groups have supported the work for a while. But that hasnвЂ™t stopped workersвЂ™ rights funders from supporting movement-aligned nonprofits and policy shops whose long-term advocacy has helped set the stage for the current moment. PhilanthropyвЂ™s role in these on-the-ground organizing efforts often ranges from limited to nonexistent - backing unions directly is considered a form of lobbying, and thus off the table for most foundations and other 501(c)(3) funders. Workers at Starbucks, Apple, REI, Conde Nast, John Deere and Kellogg are also organizing, just to name a few. Especially during the past year, worker organizers have notched some promising wins on the ground, including the recently founded Amazon Labor UnionвЂ™s improbable victory at a Staten Island warehouse. By GallupвЂ™s reckoning, the last time Americans felt so good about unions was over a half-century ago. Increased awareness of their struggles, alongside a tight labor market and a (relatively) pro-labor White House, has helped shape a national climate more favorable to labor organizing than itвЂ™s been in decades.ДЄ recent Gallup poll shows that 68% of the American public approve of labor unions, way up from a low of around 48% back in 2009. When COVID hit, people witnessed firsthand the essential role of workers in low-paying service industries, most of whom do not benefit from traditional union infrastructure. The past several years havenвЂ™t been great for the nationвЂ™s workers, but theyвЂ™ve been quite promising for a reinvigorated labor movement.

Uc berkeley notable alumni