Joaquín Rodríguez is WSLC’s new Racial & Gender Justice Director

SEATTLE (Nov. 28, 2023) — Joaquín Rodríguez has been named as the Director of Racial and Gender Justice for the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

This role was created to support the WSLC’s Race and Labor work as set forth by the council’s affiliated unions since 2015 — and reaffirmed through the transformational work of the previous and inaugural director, Kasi Perreira — that the labor movement in Washington state is dedicated to dismantling racial, gender, and economic oppression. It is our collective responsibility to work toward racial and gender justice in our movement.

Rodríguez previously served as a South Seattle Educator and Seattle Education Association’s (SEA) Association Representative. Working most recently as a Multilingual Science teacher, he found himself advocating for himself and for others in the face of inequity. Rodríguez was called to serve his fellow SEA educators and was elected twice as the SEA Center for Racial and Social Justice (CRSJ) Director, where he served the SEA and wider communities.

“Joaquín’s experience as an educator, racial justice advocate, and union activist make him the perfect fit for this critical position,” said WSLC President April Sims. “With his help, the council will continue to make the case that racial and gender justice and economic justice are inextricably linked. Building a stronger anti-racist and anti-sexist labor movement is the key to building power for all working people.”

WSLC Resolution #2023.19, the most recent in a series of resolutions that guides the WSLC’s Race and Labor work, outlines the WSLC’s four priorities connecting racial, gender, and economic justice in our Strategic Plan: Culture Shift, Capacity, Infrastructure, and Resources. As the Director of Racial and Gender Justice, Rodríguez’s charge is to grow this work.

“We must keep focused on these priorities, building our solidarity and our collective power to advocate for the rights of all workers,” Rodríguez said. “I’m very excited to be working with the WSLC, with our local union affiliates and leaders, with allied groups and constituency groups, and always with community, to cultivate a more powerful and inclusive labor movement here in Washington.”

For more information about the WSLC’s work in this area, visit the Race and Labor page.

Rodríguez can be reached at jrodriguez@wslc.org or by calling 206-790-3767.

Widely considered to be the “voice of labor” in our state, the WSLC represents and provides services for hundreds of local unions throughout Washington. The WSLC is the largest labor organization in our state, with more than 600 local unions affiliated with the WSLC, representing more than 500,000 rank-and-file union members. Learn more at the www.wslc.org.