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About the Building a Movement (BAM) Labor Internship

The Building a Movement Labor (BAM) Internship is a paid internship program that connects undergraduate students at the University of Washington with the local labor movement, through partnerships with community organizations engaged with this work on a variety of levels. Students who are invested in labor and social justice advocacy are given the opportunity to explore how organizations work to make systemic and community-level changes for the benefit of working people, and make meaningful contributions to that process.

BAM offers students a broader understanding of what work in the labor movement can look like through firsthand experience, especially students who are considering pursuing labor as a career. Students will build connections and relationships with folks working in labor, learn about the history of labor organizing, develop meaningful professional and leadership skills, and ultimately create and engage in spaces that discuss how our efforts can collectively contribute to the broader labor movement and the systemic liberation of all working (and non-working) peoples. 

 

 

How to Apply for the BAM Internship 

The BAM application for Spring 2025 is currently OPEN.  Applications are DUE March 3 (Monday) 11:59pm. You may access the application form at the link HERE. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Soohyung Hur (hursh@uw.edu) or Sai Ahmed (ypahmed@uw.edu). (Updated 2/7/2025)

The on-line application portal is currently closed. Applications will open in Winter Quarter for positions beginning in Spring Quarter. Join us for our Student Info Session on February 13, 4:30-5:30 in SMI 320 (and get a banh mi!), RSVPs requested at https://tinyurl.com/WINinfoBAM25

Application Instructions

Before applying, we highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the organizations who have previously offered positions through the BAM Labor Internship. Position responsibilities, requirements, work hours, and location vary by host organization and are stated in Section 2 of the application.

  • Massage Parlor Outreach Project (MPOP): organizes to build worker power through organizing and leadership to provide support for migrant Asian massage parlor workers, sex workers, and care workers in the Chinatown International District and greater Seattle area.
  • United Auto Workers (UAW) 4121: is the union of graduate and undergraduate ASEs (Research Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Staff Assistants, Reader, Graders, Tutors), Postdocs, and Research Scientists at UW. Through 20 years of collective action and strong membership participation, 4121 members have been able to win major improvements – both to our working and living conditions – on issues including wages, health care, equity and anti-discrimination, housing, international scholar issues, climate change, childcare and family leave, and much more.
  • The Northwest Regional Council (NWRC) of SMART Local 66: focuses efforts to enhance job opportunities, wages, benefits, and working conditions for our members. Our union stands as a pillar of excellence, representing skilled workers and reputable contractors across various sectors of the sheet metal industry, including Architectural, HVAC, Industrial, Service, Stainless Steel, and TABB.
  • PROTEC17: is an independent labor union of 10,000+ dedicated public employees working in public health, transit, and other critical services across Washington and Oregon. We work at the City of Seattle, King County, Washington State, and more than a dozen other employers. At PROTEC17, we are a member-powered union inspiring action, advancing equity, and building community. Together, we envision a world free of social, racial, and economic injustice, where all people thrive, living happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives.
  • Puget Sound Sage (PSS): is a progressive environmental justice, abolitionist non-profit that centers and advocates POC community visions and turns them into policy for systemic change. We're located in Seattle's International District and currently base-building to strengthen community ties and continue popular education with the residents. The residents we work with are mainly Chinese (Toishanese, Cantonese, and Mandarin-speaking) aunties who live in the affordable housing buildings in the neighborhood.
  • United Farm Workers (UFW): works to organize the major agricultural sectors to ensure farm workers can have access to a union contract. The union has advocated for and won the passage of state laws that provide farm workers overtime pay after 8 hours in California, Washington, and Oregon. The union is also a leader in the national movement for immigration reform. 
  • Washington Ethnic Studies Now (WAESN): is committed to transforming K-12 education in Washington State by advocating for Ethnic Studies in every classroom, empowering educators with anti-racist training, centering the voices of people of Color, and building partnerships to create systemic change for a more racially just future. 
  • Kabataan Alliance: Kabataan Alliance is a national Filipino youth alliance to build national unity among Filipino youth across the United States to advocate for the rights and welfare of Filipinos in the U.S., the Philippines, and around the world. We unite and empower Filipino youth across the U.S. to engage in community organizing and advocacy to build towards a just society where people can reach their full potential. 
  • Queer the Land: Queer the Land (QTL) is a Black and QT2BIPOC-led collective dedicated to creating sustainable housing, community spaces, and opportunities for growth rooted in social justice. Founded in 2016, our mission is to build a cooperative network anchored by a community center, transitional and semi-permanent housing, and a community garden in Seattle's historical communities of color.

NOTE ABOUT POSITIONS: All positions have been added (Updated 2/18/2025). We are still working on finalizing additional positions for the internship. Please check back on this form later - your responses will remain editable until the deadline. If we add any additional positions to the application, we will send an email notification to all the students that have applied up to that point.

In submitting the on-line application, a student will provide the following materials:

  1. A resume, highlighting skills such as language abilities, personal, and academic interests that speak to your interest in this position.

  2. College transcript. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.

  3. Up to date contact information, including e-mail and phone number.

  4. Written responses  (no more than 400 words) to the following questions:

    1. Why are you most interested in working with a particular position? What do you hope to gain from this experience? Further information about positions and additional host-specific questions are available in the BAM Labor Internship application itself.

    2. Tell us about what drew you to the BAM Labor Internship. Why are you interested in labor organizing and labor studies?

    3. How does this internship fit into your broader career, academic, and personal goals?

    4. List any significant time commitments you expect to have throughout Spring 2024. If selected for the internship position you indicated interest in, how will you balance this commitment with your other commitments?

    5. For the positions that you have applied for, do you have any concerns about accessing the technology or software required? If so, please describe below. The Bridges Center is committed to helping students navigate technological issues so that the internship remains accessible.

    6. If possible, would you like to earn academic credit for the BAM Labor Internship position? Please note, students have an 18 credit limit per quarter - if you would like to add academic credit to this internship and you are already signed up for 18 credits in the upcoming quarter, you may incur additional tuition fees from the UW.

    7. If there are any special considerations or additional information you feel necessary to your application, please include it here.

Questions?

Contact Soohyung Hur, Graduate Staff Assistant for the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at hursh@uw.edu.

 

Internship Eligibility

The BAM Labor Internship is open to current undergraduates of any year and in any field of study at the University of Washington who have a vested interest in working people’s issues and/or labor organizing. Students from any one of the UW's three campuses (Bothell, Seattle, Tacoma) are eligible to participate. 

We encourage students of all backgrounds and identities to apply, and are committed to supporting undocumented students at the UW. We are additionally committed to working with partner organizations that reflect and serve a variety of communities in the Greater Seattle Area, and hope to connect students with organizations that best align with their personal and academic interests and investments.

 

What Will the Internship Look Like? 

The internship is both a paid opportunity as well as a source of academic credit. We hope to work with partner organizations to determine the weekly number of hours that students will be expected to work remotely, that allows for integration into daily operations, community building and capacity to run individual projects that further the organization’s goals. Students will be compensated at a pay rate of $22 per hour, including a weekly meeting with other BAM interns and mentors. Hours range from 6.5-19.5 hours per week (including weekly meetings) depending on the host organization, as noted in Section 2 of the application.

In their accompanying coursework, students will be expected to reflect on their experiences with their mentors and peers, and how their work with partner organizations aligns with their own academic and personal interests and goals.

 

What Kind of Work Will Students Perform with Host Organizations?

  • Students learn the day-to-day operations of the organization, along with their values and theories of change, and can help to push forward campaigns or long-term projects. The relationships they build with their host organizations can be long lasting and extend beyond the time frame of the internship program.
  • Intern responsibilities vary depending on the host organization. Specific responsibilities as well as requirements are stated in Section 2 of the application. Interns have hosted Know Your Rights trainings, created websites, ran social media campaigns, talk to union members about their workplace, and conducted oral history.
  • Depending on the organization, work might be remote, hybrid, or in-person.

 

Why Should Students Participate?

  • Develop and demonstrate important professional and leadership skills
  • Have an opportunity to connect with the labor movement 
  • Build knowledge on the types of opportunities that are available for folks interested in pursuing a career in labor, and potentially seek to continue working for a community partner after their internship ends
  • Gain firsthand experience around what organizing in labor and social justice movements involves, and a broader sense of the history of labor organizing
  • Learn about and engage with organizing efforts across the Greater Seattle Area and create virtual spaces to discuss how all these efforts can and do align with the broader labor movement. 
  • Earn a stipend/wages for their work

Why Should Your Organization Participate?

  • Have UW students aid them in their daily operations and programs/campaigns
  • Publicize their resources to students and other community groups 
  • Interface with other community organizations, including the Bridges Center
  • Have students complete projects that help to further the goals of the organization
  • Learn and engage with other organizations and the work they are doing
  • Receive feedback from students about their experiences. Share and process ideas together about continuing to connect with communities and other organizations and pushing our social movements forward together
  • Placement: Some community partners may have the capacity to provide intensive supervision, others may desire students that can work mostly independently
  • Educate and provide experience to a future cohort of organizers, activists and workers