what we do
Centuries of colonialism and racialized capitalism have entrenched us in systems that prioritize profit over people and the planet. The ruling oligarchs who profit from these systems have become increasingly brazen in their pursuit of wealth, and have created a web of existential threats with ever-worsening social inequity, environmental destruction, and climate harms.
At Breach Collective, we work with community-powered labor and climate justice campaigns because we believe that the path forward must be shaped by and for workers. We also know that communities face interconnected crises simultaneously, and standing for worker and climate justice requires fighting across issues according to communities’ lived experiences.
Therefore, our work centers around advancing a just energy transition away from fossil fuels, reinvigorating the labor movement, protecting democratic freedoms, and nurturing cross-movement solidarity.
how we build power
Organizing
Throughout history, broad-based grassroots movements have been the most effective means to advance justice. Breach expands the climate and labor movements, builds solidarity with frontline communities, and forms strategic alliances.
Storytelling
Breach elevates the voices of movement leaders and communities most vulnerable to the crises we face. Sharing stories reminds us that what unites us is stronger than what separates us, and that together we are more powerful than our oppressors.
Legal Advocacy
Law should be a tool to promote justice. But it does not replace the central role of a grassroots constituency in defining and demanding it. We develop innovative legal strategies that respond to the needs of frontline communities in the climate and labor movements.
Education
Drawing on our team’s expertise, Breach designs and provides education courses and trainings to activists, organizers, storytellers, attorneys, and other interested members of the communities we partner with.
our project & partners
Building Electrification: Breach advocates for local policies to spark a just energy transition in Oregon's buildings, holding gas utilities publicly accountable for their greenwashing, political influence, and misinformation about methane gas. Breach is one of the core partners advancing the Eugene Clean Energy Fund.
Stop Zenith Oil & the CEI Hub: Breach works with neighborhood organizations, nonprofits, and elected officials to stop Zenith Energy's expansion and drive down fossil fuel infrastructure in Portland's Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub.
Worker Power for the Common Good: Breach staff elected into leadership roles at our union Local, CWA 7901, are unionizing workplaces, negotiating progressive contracts, and integrating labor into climate and environmental justice advocacy.
Protect the Protest: Breach leads communications for Protect the Protest: a coalition dedicated to protecting the free speech of public interest advocates in the United States.
No Immunity for Big Oil: Breach leads Oregon in the national campaign to oppose immunity for Big Oil, as the fossil fuel industry lobbies Congress for total legal immunity from any climate laws or lawsuits that could hold them accountable.
Internal Accountability: We hold ourselves accountable to dismantling racial, gender, and other oppressive dynamics in our workplace and our work.
Organize Your Organization!: We collaborate with staff at our union, Communications Workers of America, on Organize Your Organization!This Breach initiative provides education, resources, and support for nonprofit workers interested in unionizing their workplaces.