From Battlefield to Digital Frontlines: A Veteran’s Mission to Transform Worker Advocacy

This former super-soldier, now a senior U.S. Army Veteran nearing retirement, stood tall and accepted the betrayal as a call to duty. With the skills to make a difference forged through a 33-year tech career and decades of advocacy, a new mission emerged from the ashes of corporate callousness.

A Lifetime of Standing for Others

My journey has always been about serving those who needed a voice. From standing up for troops and their families in times of need, to advocating for taxi drivers who couldn’t speak for themselves, to organizing solar workers without representation—the mission has remained constant: protect those who cannot defend themselves.

This commitment to service extended beyond grassroots organizing into the political arena, with a run for Congress and, most recently, leading the Kennedy for President campaign in Nevada. Each experience reinforced a fundamental truth: systems change when people unite with the right tools and knowledge.

The Birth of BuildUp Cooperative and Pay-Maker

When my team of seasoned professionals was discarded and our positions shipped overseas, I recognized this wasn’t just my battle—it was happening everywhere. The tactics had changed, but the war on workers’ dignity remained the same.

Drawing on military strategic thinking and decades of technical expertise, I began reshaping BuildUp Cooperative into a 21st-century on-demand union. The centerpiece of this mission: Pay-Maker, a digital platform that equips any worker advocate with the tools and education to lead Section 7 Collective Actions for living wages.

A Tactical Approach to Worker Empowerment

The strategy is precise and targeted:

1. Rapid deployment: Provide immediate resources for workers facing urgent situations
2. Clear objectives: Focus on achievable goals like living wage adjustments
3. Sustainable operations: Dues are paid only until the action is completed
4. Force multiplication: Enable a single advocate to organize an entire workplace effectively

This approach applies battlefield wisdom to labor organizing—identify the objective, gather intelligence, equip your team, execute with precision, and secure the position.

The Next Deployment

As this mission moves forward, the goal remains clear: create a system where workers can rapidly organize, effectively advocate, and successfully secure the dignity and compensation they deserve—without waiting for traditional structures to catch up to urgent needs.

For this veteran, the battlefield may have changed, but the mission continues: stand up for those who need a voice, equip them with the tools to succeed, and never retreat when justice is on the line.

BuildUp Cooperative and Pay-Maker represent not just applications or organizations, but a continuation of service—a duty that doesn’t end with retirement, but evolves to meet the challenges of a new era.