Founded in 2002 as a small legal aid project to help low-wage and immigrant workers recover stolen wages, Workers Defense Project (WDP, Norman grantee 2011–2014) has grown into a statewide, membership-based organization that trains and organizes construction workers in Texas, one of the most dangerous states in the country for construction work where an average of 120 workers  are killed on the job annually.

In 2013, WDP won an Austin city ordinance requiring companies seeking tax incentives to meet higher labor standards on construction projects, including living wages, basic safety training, and workers’ compensation coverage. That same year, WDP’s groundbreaking research on the widespread misclassification of workers — a practice that strips workers of their rights and deprives the state of tax revenue — led to the passage of a statewide tax fraud law creating penalties for employers who pay workers off the books on state-owned projects. WDP also negotiated landmark agreements with major developers, including Apple, Visa, and National Instruments, which expanded safety protections and independent site monitoring and created 5,000 living wage jobs.