2024 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CANDIDATES
There are a total of 17 seats on the Executive Council: 4 officer seats (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer), and 13 general Executive Council Member seats. All seats are two-year terms.
This year, there are a total of nine Executive Council positions up for election: President, Treasurer, Secretary, and six general Executive Council Member seats. The Secretary and two Executive Council seats will serve one year terms to fill current vacancies. We are also electing five new alternates. We thank last year’s alternates for their willingness to step up.
The President, Secretary, and Treasurer will be elected separately from the EC as a whole. The Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer also serve as members of the Executive Council, in addition to their special roles. Candidates can choose to run for multiple offices, but would only be allowed to serve in one role, should they win both.
Alternates do not formally serve on the Executive Council unless they are asked to fill a vacancy, but they do undergo training and may perform some tasks.
Presidential Candidate
Ngakay Wong
Hey y’all, I’m Ngakay (they/them) & I’m asking for your vote in my run for CWG president and EC member. I’m a current associate member, former working member, of CWG who has served out 1 term on the EC over the past 2 years where I’ve done work alongside other amazing CWG members through some of our member-run committees: Membership Engagement, Bargaining, Merch, and Palestine Solidarity (I currently chair the latter 2).
Through unionizing my campaign 4 years ago during the 2020 presidential primary, being a steward at a workplace under a CWG contract, and serving on the EC the past 2 years, I’ve learned that building a strong labor movement that welcomes all of us takes both hard work and joyous community-building. I’ve been doing that hard work for a powerful member-led union through:
Helping launch the merch store and shepherding us through the fall launch and a vendor change sending out many monthly membership meeting emails!
Putting forth and motivating financial motions to get free merch for publicity into our members’ hands, and then tracking and shipping those keeping track of all incoming committee interest & connecting members to committees they’re interested in.
Bargaining 2 contracts for new CWG members, co-leading some tough negotiations for a fair return-to-office policy as steward,
Starting the Palestine solidarity committee to make sure CWG and our members, in our unique position within the political system in the belly of the beast, have a place to organize together
Having struggled alongside workers across the overlapping campaign & campaign-adjacent industries CWG members work in, I know that selling our labor in progressive spaces doesn’t make getting the compensation, benefits, and working conditions we deserve any easier. But when we truly organize together, we can focus our power and help each other thrive!
I hope to keep dreaming and fighting with you all to build an even more powerful worker-led CWG in the years to come. In practice, that means equipping workers and CWG members with the skills, knowledge, and attitude to fight collectively for better workplaces for ourselves and our movements, and that starts with deepening our relationships with each other. Feel free to reach out to chat anytime on Slack (@ngakay) or send me an email at ngakay.wong@gmail.com!
Twitter: @they_ngakay
IG: @demon_spam
TREASURER Candidate:
Tyler Wilkinson
Hello union siblings! I'm kindly asking for your vote for CWG Treasurer. I'm running for Treasurer to bring more transparency to the role, including a new and transparent yearly budget process. I have been a CWG member since 2019 including a year as an alternate and have spent a full term on the EC. During my time on the EC, I have organized two campaigns, led the 5 year planning committee as chair, and have been a member of the Finance Committee. I bring 7 years of experience in electoral politics and the labor movement to the role since having worked on two campaigns and for three unions. Currently, I work as a UniServ Director for the Maryland State Education Association, where I am assigned to Baltimore County. In my current role, I am involved in political organizing, internal organizing and representation. I'm excited to run for the position and hope I can secure your vote.
tyler.wilkinson@fulbrightmial.org
@twilk93
SECRETARY Candidate:
Annabel Xu
Hi! I am running for the Secretary position on the Executive Council. As a member of the Executive Council, I am the chair of the Media Committee and I support a number of other committees, including the Election Committee and Hiring Committee. Previously, I was a steward at ActBlue.
I've been really inspired by the contracts CWG is able to ratify and the material wins units gain and the way that workers organize around better working conditions and that everything we do sets a precedent for other campaign workers and establishes industry-wide standards for pay, protections, and benefits. This year, I hope to be even more involved in the EC by supporting the Executive team as the Secretary. I especially hope to use this role to ensure greater transparency and ensure all members are able to get involved in CWG and union organizing!
In my free time, I like to read, knit, do puzzles, tell bad jokes, and discuss Boston public transportation.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CANDIDATES:
Jack Colbert
Hello! My name is Jack Colbert, and I am a Field Organizer at NextGen America based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was born and raised near Seattle, Washington. After graduating college one quarter early in March of 2023, I spent six months completing three political internships. I knew I wanted to dedicate myself to improving the lives of others, and I thought moving to the birthplace of America would be the perfect start for a career. I packed up my car and drove from Seattle to Philadelphia in late August of 2023, beginning work at NextGen soon after. Following the contract extension offered by NextGen, I was nominated and elected as Union Steward for the Campaign Workers Guild. I want to support workers as much as possible and am excited for the opportunity to work closely with the union.
Jose Galarza
Hola! My name is Jose. I was born and raised in the Bronx to working-class Puerto Rican parents. I had many impactful experiences that shaped the way I became more involved politically which started with navigating the NYC public school system.
I volunteered for my first electoral campaign in 2017 to a progressive candidate running for New York City Council. That campaign would put me towards the path of electoral politics.
In the fall of 2019 I began working on my first electoral campaign as an Iowa Field Organizer for Bernie Sanders' second Presidential run. It was also the first time being a part of a unionized workplace. I remember the instances of how management in the campaign would not accept workers proposal an adjusted pay for the increase working a 70 hour work week leading up to the caucus. Or how layoffs or redeployment process was handled in the aftermath of the caucus. It made me realize the importance of union representation is a constant enforcement for our rights, regardless of who the candidate is.
After that campaign, I joined the AOC team as one of their field organizers. This was how I got introduced to CWG and have been a part ever since!
For the past 2 years, I worked different projects ranging from training experts and newbies on the 2020 redistricting process and mapping tools, helping launch a vote tripling effort in the Bronx, and was a camp counselor the last two summers helping facilitate the leadership growth of 120 youth from across the world!
Sara Green
Hi everyone! My name is Sarah Green (she/her) and my professional background is in electoral campaigns, endorsement PACs, and progressive non-profits. I was introduced to the union space through leading the charge to unionize my former workplace, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, with CWG. Throughout the last year, I worked closely and consistently with Taylor Billings to get cards signed, win voluntary recognition, and get my unit to the bargaining table, even when faced with apathy and hesitation from management.
CWG was my first real introduction to the union space and was instrumental in organizing my workplace. I was guided through every step, and I want to be part of that process for future CWG members. CWG taught me how to organize effectively in a union context, how to inspire solidarity and sacrifice, and how to take the real concerns and lived experiences of myself and my colleagues to make our workplace work for us all.
In short, I believe that CWG fills an essential role in the progressive political ecosystem and I want to put the work in to help sustain it. I am excited to continue learning from others in this space. And most importantly, I'm running for Executive Council so I can do what was done for me.
Katy Hartnett
Katy Hartnett, a campaign cowgirl from San Diego who loves the terrifying thrill of moving every 7 months and is passionate about the labor movement, social justice and frozen pizza. During my time on the EC and as Secretary I've worked towards updating systems management, timely email responses and other administrative work that supports all of the amazing work our staff and committees do everyday. As an alternate EC member my term was only one year so I would love the opportunity to get to complete the work I've started and make sure that CWG has the lasting infrastructure we need to continue the fight for campaign workers everywhere!
IG: DamnitBetty
Twitter: KatyHartnett
Jackson Rodelander
Hi! I'm Jackson, a campaign organizer in San Diego, CA. I joined CWG in 2022 when I worked for the Democratic Party of Oregon, and have remained an Associate Member since the end of that election cycle because being a union member is important to me ideologically, politically, and practically. I'm currently running the reelection campaign of Congresswoman Sara Jacobs in California's 51st District and I'm excited to be a larger part of CWG's culture in both the general meetings and in the Palestinian Solidarity Committee. I'll actually be participating in the candidate forum from Hebron, as I'm spending the next few weeks in the West Bank doing some volunteer work before I really sink my teeth into campaign season this year.
jrcrodelander@gmail.com
Shimon (Shim) Saphire-Bernstein
Shim began working in political organizing in 2021 after a life of passive engagement in politics. He quickly realized that campaign workers are routinely exploited by campaigns, with unrealistic demands, 6-day weeks and very long hours. He joined CWG in 2022 and quickly realized he had found a group of like-minded activists who shared his views on labor and exploitation in the modern economy. In 2023, Shim leveled up his involvement in CWG by joining the Organizing/Bargaining Committee and winning election (as an alternate) to CWG's executive council. For the past year, CWG has been one of Shim's top priorities (the others are gainful employment). He has been heavily involved in bargaining a CBA for a new CWG unit and has conducted several new-unit intake interviews as part of his work with the Organizing/Bargaining Committee.
Shim has also been elevated to chair of the Member Engagement Committee, where he has focused on producing CWG's monthly membership newsletter and has assisted in the preparation and execution of numerous General Membership Meetings. Shim is committed to inspiring CWG's membership to greater levels of involvement and engagement with the union, and is especially concerned with finding ways to engage Associate members and providing them with a more useful and valuable experience. Shim has also been an active participant in the newly-created Palestine Solidarity Committee. When not involved in CWG matters, Shim spends his time working as a field interviewer for the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center and advocating for rideshare and other gig economy workers in Chicago with the Chicago Gig Alliance and The People's Lobby. For fun, Shim likes to go on hikes in the woods and photographing animals in the wild.
shimon.saphirebernstein@gmail.com
FB: @shimon.saphirebernstein
IG: @shimstagram_1
Ben Silva
I have worked on campaigns since 2015. Organizing my own campaign in 2020 showed me the power of a union. Since then, I have been a part of several more successful organizing efforts. I want to continue to help other campaign workers win their union and fight for our rights!