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A SERVICE OF OHIO'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING STATIONS
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James Thindwa
Organizer, Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff
The Role of Social Movements in Creating Transformative Change
James Thindwa was born and raised in Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia. His family took part in Rhodesia's fight against British colonial rule. There he learned the power of organized labor and organized protest. Thindwa won a scholarship to Kentucky's Berea College and went on to a masters degree at Miami University of Ohio. As a student he protested against the Ku Klux Klan and apartheid in South Africa. He moved to Chicago, where he advocated for senior citizens before joining Jobs with Justice.
Growing up, Thindwa saw unions perform more functions than just negotiating for better wages for workers-they were a legitimate vehicle for transforming society. It was with this in his mind that Thindwa became an organizer in Chicago. Most recently, Thindwa has been advocating for the Employee Free Choice Act.
Jobs With Justice engages workers and allies in campaigns to win justice in workplaces and in communities where working families live. JwJ was founded in 1987 with the vision of lifting up workers' rights struggles as part of a larger campaign for economic and social justice. JwJ believes in long-term multi-issue coalition building , grassroots base-building and organizing and strategic militant action as the foundation for building a grassroots movement.
September 25, 2009