About Arise Chicago

Arise Chicago builds partnerships between faith communities and workers to fight workplace injustice through education and organizing and advocating for public policy changes.
Formerly Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues, Arise Chicago was founded by Monsignor Jack Egan, Rabbi Robert Marx, United Methodist Bishop Jesse De Witt, and Kim Bobo in 1991. With knowledge that the basic tenets of all faith traditions support the rights of workers, Arise Chicago organizes the religious community to bring about just resolutions to workplace injustice. When workers wish to form a union, they are often met with intimidation and harassment. Arise Chicago organizes religious leaders through its Faith and Labor Solidarity program to support workers seeking unionization.
Arise Chicago's Building Bridges Program, begun in 2000, prepares women and people of color for the building trades' (carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc.) entrance exams into apprenticeship programs. About one-third of our graduates are ex-offenders.
Launched in 2002, Arise Chicago's Worker Center is a membership-based community resource for low-wage workers to join together to learn about their rights and improve workplace conditions. In just six years, the Worker Center has partnered with over 2,000 workers to recover more than $3,600,000 in wage theft and just compensation.