To achieve its mission, WDP operates three programs to win better living and working conditions for economically disadvantaged families:

Leadership Education Achievement Program (LEAP): LEAP is dedicated to empowering those who have experienced inequality firsthand to lead social justice movements. Because these individuals are intentionally excluded from decision-making processes that most affect their lives, WDP develops grassroots community leaders skills through:

• Leadership development courses that focus on developing participants’ advocacy skills and building an analysis of the root causes of social inequality
• ESL courses centered on developing a vocabulary to assist participants to advance in the workplace
• Youth empowerment courses that instruct children of WDP members in issues of social justice through creative expression including art, poetry, theater, and by studying social movement history

Workplace Justice Program: This program assists thousands of low-wage workers each year in addressing serious workplace issues by:

• Educating and training workers and small employers in employment issues such as basic rights, safety, discrimination, and the Family Medical Leave Act
• Recovering back wages for workers who have been denied payment for their work
• Assisting injured workers in receiving medical attention and compensation

WDP has recovered almost $700,000 in back wages for nearly 600 low-wage workers, allowing those workers to better provide for themselves and their families. Each year WDP educates more than 2,000 workers about their workplace rights through weekly trainings. Additionally, the organization reaches low-wage workers through innovative media partnerships with Spanish-language media and by running informative ads on public businesses.

Community Organizing for Change: WDP believes in achieving systemic change through grassroots organizing efforts with those most affected by the issues of workplace inequality. WDP’s Community Organizing for Change achieves this by:

• Engaging members in civic participation that seeks to achieve positive social change, such as with voter registration and candidate forums
• Developing the leadership skills of grassroots community members to better advocate themselves and their communities. WDP achieves this through 10-week leadership courses for its constituents.
• Creating leadership outlets where WDP members can come together to address serious workplace issues at a systemic level. Earlier this year WDP’s members were successful in winning the passage of a rest break ordinance for construction workers by Austin City Council—the first of its kind in the state.