Beyond Legal Aid is thrilled to announce the launch of our newest partnership with Chicago Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (CIWOC) in this new year! CIWOC is Beyond’s 9th activism partner, bringing an exciting addition to our 22 total partnerships!

Members of The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) created the IWOC, the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, which functions as a liaison for prisoners to organize each other, unionize, and build solid bridges between prisoners on the inside and fellow workers on the outside. Chicago IWOC supports incarcerated workers in Illinois and beyond to dismantle the prison industrial complex.

CIWOC representatives join in our enthusiasm about the new partnership and said: “Chicago Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee is proud and excited to celebrate our partnership with Beyond Legal Aid. Having [Beyond] at our side will magnify and maximize the power that unionized incarcerated people can forge. Together, we will combat state-sanctioned mass torture, death, and irreparable harm caused by the Illinois Department of Corrections. Our partnership will strengthen IWOC's ability to leverage the power of the legal system for the benefit of incarcerated workers through filing multi-plaintiff cases. With the power that is imbued by the state to attorneys we will break through the isolation imposed on prisoner’s communication. We look forward to building new avenues towards freedom and incarcerated worker power.”

We cannot wait to share more about this partnership’s journey with you soon! We are genuinely grateful to CIWOC for taking this next step with us.