UK Wikimedia staff seek union recognition amid volunteer tensions

UK-based employees of the Wikimedia Foundation have asked the nonprofit to voluntarily recognize their union, according to the Communication Workers Union. The move matters because it brings a formal labor campaign inside the organization that supports Wikipedia at a time of strained relations with the volunteer community that keeps the encyclopedia running.

The request was delivered to Wikimedia Foundation management on Wednesday, The Verge reported. The workers are organizing through Wiki Workers United, a campaign that has been underway for months, while the UK group is seeking recognition with the Communication Workers Union.

The Wikimedia Foundation employs staff in multiple countries. The UK is the first group of foundation employees to seek union recognition, and it has the second-largest number of foundation workers after the United States, according to the union’s press release.

Workers cite concerns after internal changes

The Communication Workers Union said foundation employees have grown concerned after recent changes at the organization. In its announcement, the union said workers were worried about transparency, trust and the direction of the nonprofit.

The union described the employees involved as longtime Wikimedia contributors and organizers who remain committed to the broader Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit that supports Wikipedia, but the online encyclopedia is written and maintained by a large community of volunteers.

Those volunteers are not foundation employees, although some contributors have later taken paid roles at the organization, The Verge reported. That distinction has become central to the recent dispute because the foundation’s decisions affect tools and teams used by unpaid contributors.

Layoff concerns raised pressure

The union request follows weeks of tension after the Wikimedia Foundation said in May that it would disband a team that worked closely with Wikipedia contributors, according to The Verge. The decision raised fears among volunteers and some former foundation staff about the future of Wikipedia’s support structure.

The Verge reported that the announcement included potential layoffs and prompted questions from some people about whether the move was connected to staff union activity. Wikimedia Foundation chief of staff Nadee Gunasena denied a link at the time, telling The Verge the reorganization and possible layoffs were not related to union efforts.

Gunasena also told The Verge then that the foundation respects eligible employees’ rights to vote on representation and would bargain in good faith if a majority backed a union. The foundation did not immediately respond to The Verge’s latest request for comment on the UK recognition push, and the UK group of Wiki Workers United did not respond before publication, according to The Verge.

Volunteer support has grown

After the team was slated for disbanding, Wikipedia volunteers rallied behind Wiki Workers United, The Verge reported. More than 1,100 contributors have signed a petition saying they would be prepared to take collective action if the union asked them to do so.

Such action could include a volunteer strike, meaning contributors could stop editing and maintaining Wikipedia except in extreme cases, according to The Verge. The possibility underscores how a staff labor campaign at the foundation has drawn support from the volunteer network that produces much of Wikipedia’s day-to-day work.

This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.