JOINT STATEMENT
December 16, 2021
MADRE Staff and Leadership Work Together to Promote Feminist Values in the Workplace
Today, MADRE employees alongside MADRE’s executive director and board are pleased to announce the formation of a staff union MADRE Staff United. Together, we are wholeheartedly committed to working to strengthen MADRE’s mission to advance human rights and social justice by meeting urgent needs in communities and creating lasting solutions to the crises of our time.​

On December 16, 2021, an overwhelming majority of employees at The Public Interest Network moved forward in requesting voluntary recognition with OPEIU Local 2. Led by our longtime ally Senator Sherrod Brown, 14 Senators wrote a letter to TPIN President Doug Phelps urging the organization to respect the request of its staff to proceed with a third-party card check.  Read the letter below, and check out The Public Interest Union on Twitter and at their website. 

These employees have been organizing for nearly two years to create an intentional and unbreakable movement to strenghten the organization and to earn a seat at the table. 

OPEIU Local 2 members at Kaiser Permanente are standing in solidarity with their unions siblings on the West Coast who are striking over the organization's continued prioritization of profits over patients. We will not stand to see KP push low wages for new hires and continue to ignore short staffing in centers! These policies are bad for workers AND bad for patients. 

Today, Defenders of Wildlife staff overwhelmingly won their union in a National Labor Relations Board election, with 70-5 votes in favor of the union. The roughly-100 workers will soon begin bargaining their first contract, after electing their colleagues into bargaining committee positions. Welcome to OPEIU, Defenders of Wildlife staff!

The agreement between Kaiser and the Alliance of Healthcare Unions, other frontline workers like us, will expire in two weeks. Kaiser is pushing an array of cuts for those workers, most importantly lower wage rates for new hires— a first step to reducing pay for all of us. As part of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente unions, we stand with Alliance workers at Kaiser in refusing to accept lower wages or benefit reductions. Click read more for full details. 

On August 13-14, more than 200 union members nationwide gathered virtually for the annual UnionDelegates Conference (UDC). Member leaders walked away empowered and mobilized, armed with strategies and tools to advance our Coalition unions’ interests and address critical issues.

Leaders also discussed the tactic's we're seeing Kaiser Permanente employ against Alliance members, who they've been bargaining with for three months. Read the full report below. 

OPEIU Local 2 is seeking an experienced staff representative to support bargaining efforts, particularly in the nonprofit sector. Please click more to find the full job description.

The Office & Professional Employees International Union, Local 2, AFL-CIO is a dynamic, progressive labor union for professional, technical, and office professionals in the private and public sectors. We are committed to leading and assisting members to improve their workplaces, gain competitive wages, benefits, and respect in the workplace.

PRO Act Town Hall
July 27, 2021 • 6:30 P.M. EDT

The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act is the most sweeping overhaul of labor law in decades. It would empower workers to come together to fight for better pay, safe working conditions and more time to spend with family. This critical piece of legislation has passed the House of Representatives and already has 47 co-sponsors in the Senate.
Join OPEIU members, organizers and our guests (to be announced) as we come together to learn how the PRO Act could impact our union and entire labor movement for the better.
Register at bit.ly/proacttownhall

Washington D.C.—On July 8, 2021, a supermajority of eligible employees at Defenders of Wildlife announced their intention to form a union, Defenders United, in pursuit of a stronger, more equitable, and even more effective workplace. Defenders United has requested voluntary recognition from the management of Defenders of Wildlife and will be represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), Local 2. Defenders of Wildlife is an environmental non-profit dedicated to the conservation of imperiled species and the protection of the places they call home. ​

Today, staff at the National Association of County and City Health Officials overwhelmingly voted to form a union with OPEIU Local 2 in their NLRB elections. Through their work, NACCHO employees strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of local health departments around the United States - their expertise ranging from healthcare equity to pandemic preparedness.