Steward: Mission & Vision

Our Mission

Steward exists to rapidly accelerate collective bargaining and unionization efforts in the U.S. by making worker power visible.

For decades, organizing has relied on word-of-mouth, workplace conversations, and slow, fragmented efforts. Workers know they have power in numbers—but they can’t see that power, measure it, or act on it in a coordinated way. Steward changes that.

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The Problem: Invisible Power, Limited Action

Workers have collective strength, but they lack the tools to see it, measure it, and use it effectively.

• No visibility: Employees at the same company often don’t know each other beyond their immediate workplace.
• No power metrics: There is no clear way to measure collective strength across workplaces.
• Difficult coordination: Organizing is hard without real-time communication and structured networks.
• Slow unionization processes: Efforts to build collective power take years because workers lack immediate access to organizing tools.

Without a clear picture of worker connections, building power is slow, fragmented, and difficult.

Why This is Needed: Systemic Economic Trends Have Weakened Workers

The modern economy fragments and isolates workers, making traditional labor organizing harder than ever while corporations centralize power, suppress wages, and prevent collective action.

E-commerce & Logistics: Scale Without Worker Connection

• Companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Target operate massive supply chains where hundreds of thousands of workers remain isolated.
• Warehouses with 600+ employees should have immense bargaining power, but workers lack visibility into their own strength.

Franchise & Gig Work: Designed to Prevent Unity

• McDonald’s, Starbucks, and fast-food chains employ millions yet use franchise structures to block company-wide bargaining.
• Gig workers (Uber, DoorDash, Instacart) are deliberately kept atomized, with no shared workplace to organize around.

Corporate Data & Surveillance: A One-Sided Advantage

• Companies track every worker move—from Amazon’s warehouse algorithms to McDonald’s scheduling software—to optimize productivity and suppress labor costs.
• Workers have no equivalent tools to measure their strength or coordinate action.

Unionization: Stalled by Design

• Corporations use delays, legal loopholes, and retaliation to weaken organizing efforts.
• While companies spend millions on union-busting, workers rely on outdated, slow organizing methods.

Wages Stagnate While Profits Soar

• Corporate profits and shareholder returns reach record highs while wages in retail, logistics, and services remain stagnant.
• Low-wage, unstable jobs with few benefits dominate key industries.

Why Steward is Necessary

Workers already have power—but they need infrastructure to see and use it.

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The Solution: Making Worker Power Visible

Steward solves this problem by building a real-time worker network map—making connections and collective strength visible for the first time.

How It Works:

1. Workers authenticate – Verification ensures only real employees are on the platform.
2. They appear on the Steward Map – A visual network of their co-workers and industry connections.
3. Networks form – Workers can see others at their company, nearby locations, and across industries.
4. Power Metrics emerge – Steward provides real data on collective strength, helping workers understand their influence.

Example Scenarios:

• McDonald’s workers at one location can see and connect with workers at another location, creating a network across stores.
• A warehouse with 600 workers sees an instant visual of how much power they hold together—revealing their potential for bargaining and action.
• Gig workers and contractors can find others in their industry, identifying opportunities for shared action and support.

Steward transforms abstract organizing into real, visible networks, allowing workers to recognize their true power and leverage it effectively.

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What Comes Next?

1. Power Becomes Visible

Workers can see their numbers, connections, and workplace networks for the first time.

2. Power Becomes Actionable

• Steward introduces tools for messaging, network mapping, and power metrics, giving workers a real-time view of their collective strength.
• Workers can connect within locations, between locations, and across industries, enabling faster and stronger organizing.

3. Power Leads to Action

• Over time, Steward will introduce grievance-handling systems, shop steward elections, and direct action tools to turn visibility into organized power.
• Workers will gain structured ways to raise concerns, track issues, and mobilize effectively.

4. Steward Complements & Accelerates Unionization

• Steward empowers all workers, unionized or not, by giving them the ability to connect, communicate, and coordinate in ways never before possible.
• The platform provides a powerful organizing tool that complements traditional union efforts while accelerating new ones.

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The application

Steward is a network-based platform designed to make worker power visible by mapping connections between employees within and across workplaces. The core feature is a real-time worker network map, where verified workers can see their co-workers, connect with other locations, and visualize their collective strength. To join, a worker provides authentication to verify their workplace. Once verified, they are added to the Steward Map, where they can see others at their location, explore broader connections within their company, and understand how their workplace fits into the larger labor landscape. Over time, workers at Amazon warehouses, McDonald’s franchises, or Walmart stores will be able to see their numbers, measure their power, and identify potential organizing opportunities.

Beyond visibility, Steward introduces power metrics and actionable tools to help workers coordinate effectively. Metrics like worker density, location strength, and network influence provide insights into bargaining potential. As the network grows, Steward will expand into messaging and coordination tools, allowing workers to communicate securely, organize collective actions, and support unionization efforts. Individual workplaces will also have access to grievance tracking and feedback systems, ensuring local workplace issues can be addressed while building toward larger collective power. Steward is not just an organizing tool—it is a scalable infrastructure for accelerating worker-led movements.

📌 Want to contribute? → Check the MVP Roadmap
📌 Developers, Researchers, and Organizers → [Pick a Contribution Path](https://github.com/projectstewa