Maryland State Coordinator

About One Fair Wage

One Fair Wage (OFW) fights for fair wages on behalf of the more than 13.6 million restaurant workers nationwide, including 300,000 restaurant worker members and over 2,500 “high road” restaurant employers. While OFW focuses on restaurant workers, it also advocates for raises for all tipped workers, workers making a subminimum wage, and other low-wage service workers. OFW organizes service workers, employers, and consumers to advance local, state, and federal policy requiring a full, fair minimum wage with tips on top for all workers.

OFW is now leading the national Living Wage for All campaign. Half of all U.S. workers earn less than $25/hour — below what it takes to meet basic needs anywhere in the country. Workers and allies have already won historic wage increases and eliminated subminimum wages for nearly 1.5 million workers in places like Washington, DC, Chicago, and Michigan, and active Living Wage For All campaigns are underway in California, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Illinois, and Washington, DC. The $25 floor comes from MIT’s Living Wage Calculator—nowhere in the country is the living wage lower than that figure.

About the Maryland Campaign

The Maryland Living Wage for All Coalition is fighting to raise Maryland’s wage floor to a true living wage and eliminate the subminimum tipped wage — two demands we hold together, without exception. The coalition includes 1199SEIU, MSEA, UFCW Local 400, UNITE HERE Local 7, AFSCME Council 3, SEIU Local 500, Maryland Center on Economic Policy, Economic Action Maryland, Public Justice Center, and others, alongside legislative champions in Annapolis and a growing base of directly impacted restaurant and service workers.

Position Summary

The Maryland State Coordinator leads coalition coordination and on-the-ground organizing for the Living Wage for All campaign in Maryland. This person is the campaign’s public face and connective tissue — holding relationships with labor and community partners, staffing the Baltimore office, developing worker leaders, and running the field program alongside the Regional Organizer. This is a relationship-first, high-visibility role for someone who can move between a legislator’s office in Annapolis, a shift change outside a Baltimore restaurant, and a coalition steering call in the same day.

Key Responsibilities

Coalition Coordination & Leadership

• Serve as primary staff lead for the Maryland Living Wage for All Coalition — agendas, meeting facilitation, follow-up, and accountability across 10+ partner organizations

• Hold regular 1-to-1s with labor and community partners to maintain trust, alignment, and shared ownership of campaign strategy

• Keep the dual demand — living wage floor and elimination of the subminimum tipped wage — unified across all coalition messaging and partner communications

• Manage coalition communications: listserv, partner updates, mobilization alerts, and shared documentation

Legislative & Policy Advocacy

• Build and maintain relationships with Maryland General Assembly members, committee chairs, and staff; maintain a live power map of decision-makers

• Coordinate hearing mobilizations: testimony recruitment and prep, witness panel design, MGA sign-up logistics, run-of-show, and day-of coordination

• Track and counter opposition messaging from industry associations and chambers, with sourced, evidence-based rebuttals

• Support press strategy in coordination with OFW communications staff and campaign lobbyists

On-the-Ground Organizing

• Work with the Regional Organizer to plan and execute organizing blitzes in target Baltimore neighborhoods and other priority areas across Maryland

• Staff the Baltimore office for regular open office hours, welcoming prospective restaurant and service worker member-leaders

• Conduct direct outreach to tipped, immigrant, and youth workers; run 1-to-1s and move workers up a ladder of engagement

• Develop worker leaders who can testify, speak to press, and represent the campaign publicly

• Support the national team with identifying potential high-road restaurant employer allies in Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Annapolis

Events & Mobilization

• Plan and execute rallies, lobby days, worker meetings, town halls, and press conferences

• Produce run-of-show documents, briefing materials, and day-of logistics for campaign events

• Drive turnout to hearings and actions in Annapolis

Data & Reporting

• Maintain accurate worker and partner data in EveryAction; track outreach, 1-to-1s, and leader identification against weekly goals

• Report progress on national organizing calls and to OFW leadership

Qualifications

Required

• 3+ years of experience in community, labor, or political organizing, with demonstrated success building a base of directly impacted people
• Experience coordinating coalitions or managing multi-organization relationships
• Working knowledge of legislative advocacy and the policy process; comfort in the halls of a state capitol
• Strong facilitation skills and the ability to run a meeting that people want to come back to
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to write a punchy talking point and a fully sourced testimony
• Demonstrated commitment to racial, economic, and gender justice
• Ability to work a flexible schedule including evenings and weekends to meet workers where they are
• Reliable transportation and ability to travel across Maryland
• Comfort with database tracking (EveryAction, VAN, or similar) and standard office/collaboration tools

Preferred

• Lived experience in the restaurant or service industry
• Existing relationships within Maryland labor, faith, or community organizing networks
• Conversational Spanish or another language spoken by Maryland service workers
• Experience supervising, coaching, or developing organizers
• Familiarity with Maryland General Assembly process and Annapolis political landscape

Working Conditions

This role is hybrid — a mix of remote work and time in the Baltimore office, with substantial field time. Campaign work is not 9-to-5: expect regular evening and weekend hours during session and around major mobilizations, balanced with flexibility during slower periods.

To Apply

Submit a cover letter and resume to Jen Disla, National Deputy Director, at jen@onefairwage.org with the subject line “MD State Coordinator – [Your Name].” Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

One Fair Wage is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and people with direct experience in the service industry.