Diane Middleton Foundation

Middleton stated, “There is such a thing as ‘enough.' I have enough. I have contributed over $1 million to this Foundation because it is the right thing to do.”

Fixing The Fundamental Problem

For more than 35 years Middleton has represented injured longshoreman, shipyard workers and asbestos victims. “My work has shown me two things: the rich have become much richer while the poor are barely holding on. I think this means we have fundamental problems with our economic system. Something is wrong where 200 to 300 of the richest people in the world control billions of dollars and others don’t have enough to eat or even safe water to say nothing of education and health care.

Second, nothing can be done without an organization behind you. Longshoreman have benefited from a rich history of labor struggle
and membership in one of the strongest unions in the world, the International Longshore and Warehouseman’s Union. I believe nothing will be done without folks getting organized and I have started this Foundation to support those who are trying to make a stand for economic justice.”

Middleton has tried to give back to the community for years through being active in the fight for economic justice, contributions to progressive organizations and causes, and sponsoring events to
benefit working people. The purpose of the Foundation is to support individuals and organizations that seek to respond to the causes of economic and social injustice and not merely manage the consequences.

Our Fund and Focus

Our focus is to support fundamental change through struggles for economic justice and projects that address community and worker organizing, civil rights including the struggles of undocumented workers, and training a new generation of leaders.

Grantees are chosen by the Foundation’s Board of Directors: Diane Middleton, Max Mariscal, Lewis Wright, Pete White, Timothy Sandoval, Davin Corona, David Arian and Goetz Wolff. See below for brief bios on our Board Members.

What We Fund

We truly appreciate the fact that a tremendous number of organizations and individuals are struggling to make a difference.
Our focus is fairly limited. The majority of our Board has a history
with the labor movement. We believe this encompasses not only organized labor but also the majority of workers that do not belong
to unions. We strongly favor projects that promote labor and community organizing.

We believe that economics is the basis of everything and we also fund projects that seek to create economic justice.

We understand that nothing can be accomplished without a new generation of leaders who have a grasp of not only economics and politics but also understand our rich working class history and the
role that culture plays in moving us forward.

Learn More

To apply for a grant, visit our Funding section. For more information on the Foundation, look through our site and read our online Newsletter. For general inquiries, visit our Contacts page.

Mission Statement

The Diane Middleton Foundation (DMF) seeks to support individuals and organizations working to:

- Build strong community and labor organizations

- Promote and expand civil and human rights with a special emphasis on protecting civil liberties in times of growing repression

- Strengthen the effort and celebrate the history of labor unions and the role of immigrant workers

- Train a new generation of leaders

- Create economic justice

The DMF resists the temptation to treat merely the symptoms of economic injustice, choosing instead to focus on its root causes; demonstrating in the process the value of programs designed to address the unequal distribution of resources to provide lasting solutions to social problems.

Funding Priorities

1. General range: $1,000.00 to $5,000.00

2. Focus: those working for fundamental change through projects addressing community and labor organizing, civil rights and civil liberties, labor education, training a new generation of leaders, and sustainable economic alternatives

3. Types of Support: specific projects with definite outcomes; program development, demonstration projects (we do not award grants for equipment or for service oriented projects)

4. Geographic Limitations: None but focus in Southern California

(More about Funding)

Our Board

Diane Middleton -

Attorney (almost retired) specializing in representation of injured waterfront workers. Founder of the Diane Middleton Foundation
and the Harry Bridges Institute.

Max Mariscal -

Max Mariscal is a worker/organize. He has a history with the Koreantown Immigrant Worker Alliance and is pursuing independant activities and study.

Lewis Wright -

Retired member of the International Longshore and Warehousemen Union. Chairman of the Board of the ILWU Credit Union. Special liaison of the Harry Bridges Institute to Latin American Trade Unionists.

Pete White -

Pete has been an organizer in the Central City East Community, commonly known as Skid Row, since 1992. He has educated and organized thousands of homeless and low-income people on a multitude of community issues and campaigns. He was the lead organizer of the Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness for 10 years
and founded LA CAN in 1999. The focus of LA CAN has now expanded from civil rights to also include housing preservation, homeless prevention, redevelopment policy, women’s rights, healthy food access, and violence prevention.

Timothy Sandoval -

College counselor with Bright Prospect – a scholarship and mentorship program that helps high achieving high school students from low income families get into top private liberal arts colleges.

Dave Arian -

Longshoreman, former President ILWU Local 13. Former International President of the ILWU. Founder of the Harry Bridges Institute.

Davin Corona -

Community organizer with Strategic Actions for a Just Economy. Focuses on housing and city redevelopment issues.

Goetz Wolff -

UCLA Urban Planning Professor (union local AFT-1990) and union researcher. Executive Director Harry Bridges Institute. Founder Global Logistics Institute.

Board Members on Leave of Absence

Justine Arian -

Justine is a longshoreman, life coach, childbirth educator, and doula.
She is an educator and advocate for womens empowerment and chairs the annual Working Class Womens’ event for the Harry Bridges Institute. Justine’s proudest accomplishment is being a mom.

Dee Petty -

Dee is a retired AFSCME union organizer and a community organizer. She retired from Barton Hill Neighborhood Organization where she organized the community to fight for economic and social change including establishing union wage jobs on the Alameda
Corridor project.

Our History

Founder Diane Middleton