Oakland Together

Oakland Together
Name	Oakland Together
Type	Coalition
Founded	2016
Location	Oakland, California
Focus	Civic engagement, voter mobilization, community organizing
Coordinates	37.8044°N 122.2711°W

Oakland Together Oakland Together is a citywide civic coalition based in Oakland, California that mobilizes residents for voter participation, community advocacy, and local campaigns. The coalition emerged from alliances among labor unions, neighborhood associations, faith groups, and progressive political organizations, working across the East Bay with partners in Alameda County, San Francisco Bay Area institutions, and statewide networks. Its activities intersect with campaigns, ballot measures, and civic institutions, engaging constituents through canvassing, phone banking, and public forums.

History

Oakland Together formed in the wake of debates over housing policy, policing, and municipal budgeting that followed the Great Recession (2007–2009) and subsequent regional economic shifts. Early collaborators included chapters of the Service Employees International Union, community groups from Fruitvale, tenant associations from West Oakland, and faith leaders affiliated with congregations in Lake Merritt and Jack London Square. The coalition’s first major visible efforts coincided with the 2016 and 2018 election cycles, coordinating with campaigns for local offices, municipal ballot measures, and allied organizations such as Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and the California Democratic Party. Over time, Oakland Together expanded ties to regional nonprofits, neighborhood councils, and university civic programs at University of California, Berkeley and Mills College.

Mission and Goals

Oakland Together’s stated mission emphasizes increasing civic participation among historically underrepresented communities in Oakland, California, including renters, immigrant communities from El Salvador and Mexico, and Black neighborhoods with roots in the Great Migration. Goals include boosting turnout in municipal elections, influencing policy on tenant protections and policing reforms, and amplifying voices from precincts such as Eastmont and Dimond. The coalition aligns with policy priorities championed by local elected officials in the Oakland City Council and collaborates with advocacy organizations like Oakland Community Organizations to promote tenant rights, criminal justice reform, and equitable development.

Programs and Services

Programs include voter registration drives, civic education workshops, and coordinated door-to-door canvassing modeled on methods used by groups such as Organizing for Action and MoveOn.org. Services extend to multilingual outreach in Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese for neighborhoods with immigrant populations, partnering with community legal clinics connected to Public Counsel and local tenant unions. Oakland Together hosts candidate forums in venues including Oakland Museum of California and neighborhood centers near Fruitvale Transit Village, and provides training in volunteer management, digital organizing tools used by NationBuilder, and data analytics similar to systems used by major campaigns.

Organizational Structure and Governance

The coalition operates as a networked organization with a coordinating committee composed of representatives from participating unions, faith institutions, and neighborhood groups. Member organizations include labor locals from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, congregations affiliated with the Interfaith Council, and grassroots groups modeled after DRUM — Desis Rising Up & Moving. Decision-making combines consensus models found in community organizing traditions with board-style oversight when interfacing with fiscal sponsors, often nonprofit intermediaries such as fiscal agents tied to organizations like DataCenter or community foundations in Alameda County Community Food Bank networks. Leadership roles rotate among convening partners, and periodic assemblies align planning with the Oakland Mayor's Office election calendar.

Funding and Partnerships

Oakland Together’s funding sources include grants from local philanthropic institutions, contributions from member organizations, and in-kind support from labor partners. Collaborative grants have come through regional funders and intermediary organizations that also support coalitions across the San Francisco Bay Area, while campaign-season activities receive volunteer labor coordinated with partner unions such as the AFL–CIO affiliates. Strategic partnerships extend to university civic engagement programs at San Francisco State University, legal aid providers like East Bay Community Law Center, and public-interest media outlets including the East Bay Express and community radio stations broadcasting from KPFA.

Impact and Controversies

Supporters credit Oakland Together with increasing turnout in targeted precincts, influencing passage or defeat of local ballot measures on tenant protections and municipal budgeting, and strengthening relationships among community stakeholders, neighborhood councils, and elected officials such as members of the Oakland City Council and county supervisors. Critics have raised concerns about coalition tactics during contentious campaigns, alleging heavy-handed canvassing in some precincts, coordination controversies related to campaign finance regulations overseen by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, and disputes between tenant organizers and real estate interests. Debates have also touched on the coalition’s alliances with labor unions and implications for municipal contracting and policy outcomes debated in public hearings at Oakland City Hall.

Category:Organizations based in Oakland, California