Published in The Chronicle of Philanthropy

By Alex Daniels

In the coronavirus era, the heroes drive delivery trucks, bag groceries, and clean hospital floors. As those employees have stayed on the job, risking their lives to ensure others can stay comfortable in seclusion, a new movement is underway to help those workers.

Foundations that have long supported labor groups are stepping up their funding and recruiting others to join a movement that some experts think could lead to sweeping policy changes.

On Tuesday, a group of eight grant makers and individual donors committed $7.1 million to the Families and Workers Fund, which will make grants for emergencies and for advocacy efforts to push for long-term policy efforts to reshape labor regulation.

Donors to the fund include the Amalgamated, Annie E. Casey, Ford, JPG, and W.K. Kellogg foundations, and Open Society foundations as well as Schmidt Futures and the philanthropist Abigail Disney.