James Oliveros
Labor Educator

James (they/them) is a Labor Educator at the Labor Center. Prior to joining the team, James served as Education Chair of Anakbayan Seattle, a youth organization focused on liberation and National Democracy for the Philippines and its people. James has also worked as a community organizer with groups like Washington CAN, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, and various local mutual aid efforts in Seattle. In their education efforts at the Labor Center, James is committed to building workplace solidarity with community members and defending every worker’s right to dignity, fair wages, and a fulfilling livelihood.

Bo McClung 
Program Specialist

Bo McClung brings to the WA-LERC a lifetime's experience of being a worker in both anti-union right-to-work states, and union protected jobs in facilities maintenance at the University of Washington and as an educator for Seattle Public Schools. Bo has a full range of firsthand knowledge to draw upon from working in highly exploitative and dangerous minimum wage jobs, working in the nonprofit environmental policy sector, and working in understaffed essential state services while putting himself through school to earn his BA in anthropology with an unfinished MS in infrastructure planning. He has been a dedicated union shop steward for AFSCME Council 28 and a delegate to the King County and Washington State labor councils where he has utilized his training and insight to gather valuable worker econometrics for more equitable COLAs for workers. Bo brings his wealth of know-how to the WA-LERC as a program specialist where he will assist the department in executing the logistics and financial deliverables of projects, worker trainings, materials, policy work, managing the Will Parry Labor Library and other aspects related to the WA-LERC's mission and goals.

Mara Rafferty   
Executive Director

LERC Director Mara Rafferty (she/her) is an equity-focused educator and community organizer who most recently served as Lead External Organizer for United Autoworkers Local 4121. As an organizer, she led and contributed to mass campaigns that saw thousands of workers win new collective bargaining rights and first contracts. A strong believer in the leadership of rank and file workers and the power of open and transparent bargaining, Mara has witnessed the ways that democratic decision making in unions can lead to mass participation and unprecedented wins for workers and communities. 

Before joining the UAW, Mara worked for several nonprofit and community organizations where she helped develop policy research and participatory civic education programs. As an experienced researcher with degrees in International Relations (BA) and Economics (MA), Mara brings a strong grounding in qualitative and quantitative research skills, which she uses to help workers develop strong bodies of research to support their campaigns. 

Outside of work, Mara can be found painting, playing music, baking, and spending time with her family.

Cassidy Butler
Labor Educator

Cassidy is our newest Labor Educator with the LERC! A recent UMass Amherst graduate, Cassidy earned her M.S. In Labor Studies and looks forward to bringing lessons learned through her coursework back to workers in Washington State. Cassidy worked as a Teaching Assistant for the university, where she taught undergraduate courses on the history of work and labor in America. She also worked as a Researcher with the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenter's where she supported the organizing team in building strategic campaigns. 

Cassidy has an extensive background in labor organizing and education with many unions, including UFCW, IUPAT, IBEW and UAW. In these roles, Cassidy took on the role of educating, mentoring, and training young workers on how to organize their workplace, their rights on the job, and how to win strong contracts. While at UMass, Cassidy researched the impact of providing union education to young workers in ​temporary employment like those she organized. In addition, Cassidy developed trainings and guides for union staff on organizing practices and techniques for organizing non-traditional and new industries. 

Cassidy is passionate about identifying, uplifting, and connecting worker leaders with opportunities to realize their potential to build collective power and meaningfully change conditions at their jobs and in their communities. She looks forward to continuing this important work with the LERC as a Labor Educator!