Jess Kutch

Change Agent, Parent, Social entrepreneur, Technologist

Jess Kutch is a co-founder of Coworker.org, a global platform dedicated to empowering workers by providing digital tools and resources for organizing and advocating for better working conditions. With a focus on promoting worker voice and democracy in the workplace, Jess leads a diverse team in supporting individuals in launching campaigns to address issues such as wage increases, scheduling reform, and parental leave benefits. Through initiatives like the Job Quality Fellowship at the Aspen Institute, Jess demonstrates a commitment to enhancing access to better quality jobs and advancing economic justice. With a background in driving positive change in the workplace, Jess excels in developing strategies, managing teams, and fostering partnerships to support workers' rights and advocate for improved job quality.

Harnessing the power of data and technology to build a 21st century labor movement.

We spend ⅓ of our adult lives at work, and jobs affect opportunities, health, families, and lifestyles. Workers can collaborate to make things better. I am a technologist and community organizer dedicated to helping people improve their jobs. In 2013, I co-founded Coworker.org as a nonprofit online platform and resource center for anyone, anywhere, to connect with peers to address workplace problems and collaborate on solutions. Now, more than 650,000 people in food service, retail, technology, and gig economy industries across 30+ countries have used our tools and services to join with peers, gather research, share content, and access expertise, tools, and trainings that they apply to their own worker-led organizing. The changes advanced by workers on our platform have impacted more than one million people worldwide. My work is helping strengthen emerging job-based grassroots networks and generate attention for information and innovations from the frontlines of the changing economy. Coworker.org is reinventing what it means to be part of the labor movement, and allowing people to imagine an economy where all workers have agency in shaping their working conditions.

Future of work, Labor history, Labor movement, Social entrepreneurship, Trade union advocacy, Work, Worker voice, Workers' rights