United for Respect Education Fund (c3)
Organization Description
United for Respect Education Fund (UFREF) is a national grassroots organization building a movement rooted in the innovation, power, and leadership of working people in low wage jobs, particularly women and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. Low-wage jobs employ over 31 million people across urban, suburban, and rural communities – 28% Black, 28% Latino, 56.7% women and 52.9% under the age of 34. Organizing and activating this multiracial workforce remains critical to transforming workplaces, our economy, and democratic participation at a moment defined by continued economic precarity, corporate consolidation, and political polarization.
2026 Programs
UFREF will reach, agitate, and mobilize the multi-racial, low-wage workers who are consistently under-engaged by traditional political outreach. This group overlaps with infrequent voters, many facing structural barriers to participation. UFR’s model moves workers from workplace action into civic engagement, supporting fights for higher wages, access to healthcare and paid leave, safe and healthy working conditions, and democratic voice in communities. Workers who organize become trusted messengers among coworkers, family members, and neighbors. Their lived experience and testimony shape public narratives around policy and corporate accountability. This constituency has power in local, statewide, and federal elections.
2025 Programs
In 2025, amid ongoing attacks on working people and their communities, United for Respect Education Fund (UFREF) sharpened its long-term strategic direction while remaining highly adaptable to rapidly changing conditions. Read a quick overview of our full 2025 program here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11D7ftfDzMroNrS92iEFj1X_JAdNCeRED/view?usp=sharing
2024 Programs
UFR's civic engagement program integrates online/offline organizing to boost voter turnout from a low-wage, majority women and BIPOC voting bloc of 2 million people across urban, rural, and suburban geographies. We move our base through deep relationship building into action, and leverage persuasion messaging to turn out low-propensity voters.
Budget Size: Medium: Previous year budget $1M - $3M
States Engaged: CA, GA, MI, NC, TX
Geographic Coverage by Congressional District:
MI-03, MI-07, MI-08, GA-06, GA-07, GA-02, CA-13, CA-22, CA-27, CA-41, CA-47, NC-01, NC-06, NC-13, NC-14, TX-15, TX-28, TX-34 Geographic Density Focus: Urban - Large city or suburb of large city (>100k)
Core Constituencies: Black, Multi-racial (including white), Latinx
Leadership Diversity: BIPOC-led, Queer-led, Women-led
Staff and Volunteer Balance: Volunteer boosted - <50% of the programmatic activities are executed by volunteers
Top Priority Issues: Economic justice, Racial justice, Labor/worker rights
Lead Contact:
Terrysa Guerra, Co-Executive Director, she/her, devteam@united4respect.org
Last Updated: July 7, 2026

