Low-wage workers from National Domestic Worker’s Alliance (NDWA) and Food Chain Worker’s Alliance (FCWA) attended DataCenter’s “Data Analysis for the People” workshops this past January and December. At these workshops – held in Oakland and Chicago, respectively – DataCenter employed popular education techniques, with workers as the experts of their own realities. Contrary to the conventional notion of data analysis, where ‘number-crunching’ happens behind closed doors with complex data analysis software, Data Analysis for the People helps workers craft their own stories, based on data they produced through surveysthey developed and administered.
“[In] this workshop…we never stop learning altogether. We don’t wait for the change, we unite to find a solution.” – low wage food worker and member of FCWA
Workers reviewed the survey results and created powerful stories, using their unique voice informed by their first-hand perspective. This body of new knowledge forms the substance of the project’s final report. Both NDWA’s and FCWA’s reports are scheduled to hit state and federal policy-makers late this spring.
“I’m always blown away by DataCenter – what a seamless process facilitation from ‘raw data’ to ‘framing’! It’s like watching a photograph develop – something inanimate, becoming concrete, and REAL.” – Jose Olivia, Policy Director, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United