EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Mark has been involved in the labor movement since 1995. In 1997 he got his first union staff job as an organizer for the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) at University of Michigan. In 2006, he joined an internet startup and for the next five years got to travel the world a little bit. In 2011, he worked for AFT Michigan as an organizer. Mark joined WAU in late 2015 as a member organizer, then as director of organizing, and is currently the Executive Director. He is keen on wiki technology in his free time.

Email Mark: mdilley@waunion.org

Call Mark: 313-942-9454 

OFFICE MANAGER

Laura Sutherland has been a member of academic unions in multiple institutions. Most recently she was a steward in the Graduate Employees’ Organizing Committee (GEOC), representing both the School of Social Work and the Department of Anthropology. She has long been inspired by her grandfather, who was a union organizer in the 1930s and 1940s. She is also a PhD candidate in the Social Work and Anthropology (SWAN) program at WSU. She enjoys any opportunity to poke around second-hand shops.

Email Laura: lsutherland@waunion.org

ORGANIZER

Sarah Coffey, she/her, is a community organizer and legal worker with over 20 years of local and national experience working on economic and social justice issues. She comes to us from the recent Michigan Supreme Court win, which raised the state minimum wage to $12/hr and abolished tiered subminimum wages for tipped workers. As Michigan Campaign Manager for One Fair Wage, Sarah co-organized this campaign and lawsuit with amazing partner organizations like Mothering Justice.

Email Sarah: scoffey@waunion.org