Wikimedia Foundation union drive expands to US employees
US-based Wikimedia Foundation employees plan an NLRB election after management declined voluntary recognition, expanding a UK-led union drive.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
The Wikimedia Foundation union campaign is widening, with US-based employees saying they plan to seek a union election through the National Labor Relations Board. The move matters because it brings the labor push inside the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia into the United States after UK staff began organizing in June, according to The Verge.
The US group is part of Wiki Workers United, which is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America. CWA said the foundation declined a request for voluntary recognition this week, prompting workers to pursue the NLRB process instead.
In a statement, CWA accused Wikimedia Foundation management of saying publicly that it would remain neutral while, in the union’s view, responding in a way that reflected anti-union messaging. CWA also criticized the foundation for what it described as spending on union-avoidance legal advice.
What happens next for the Wikimedia Foundation union?
US-based employees say they will file for an election with the NLRB, the federal agency that handles private-sector union votes in the United States. Because management did not voluntarily recognize the union, the question would move to a secret-ballot election process.
The Wikimedia Foundation said in a public statement that it believes a secret-ballot election with the NLRB is the right way to proceed. The foundation’s statement did not amount to voluntary recognition of Wiki Workers United.
Voluntary recognition is a route in which an employer accepts a union based on workers showing support without requiring an election. An NLRB election, by contrast, puts recognition to a formal vote.
How did the organizing effort start?
The US campaign follows an earlier step by Wikimedia Foundation workers in the United Kingdom. In June, UK staff became the first employees at the nonprofit to announce plans to form a union, The Verge reported.
The new US effort expands that campaign across another major part of the foundation’s workforce. CWA’s statement frames the filing decision as a response to management’s refusal to recognize the union without an election.
Why is this happening during a tense period at Wikipedia?
The organizing drive comes as the Wikimedia Foundation faces strain in its relationship with the unpaid volunteers who write, edit and maintain Wikipedia. The Verge reported that in May, hundreds of Wikipedia editors threatened to strike after the foundation dissolved an engineering team that had worked closely with volunteers.
Some volunteers questioned whether those layoffs were connected to union activity, according to The Verge. The Wikimedia Foundation denied that the layoffs were related to organizing efforts.
The dispute places the foundation under pressure from two groups central to Wikipedia’s operation: staff employees seeking union representation and volunteers concerned about decisions affecting the site’s maintenance. The next formal step for US workers is the NLRB election filing they say they will pursue.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.