Mission Statement: Why ACLU Staff United Is Organizing
For over 100 years, the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) has worked to defend and expand the individual rights and freedoms that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. As a core part of its mission, the ACLU has protected the right of workers to organize unions, and advocated for collective bargaining as necessary means to protect the rights of individual workers. Some of the ACLU’s very first actions were brought to counter the virulent anti-union crusades of the 1920s. In the spirit of bringing our organization’s mission and values into our workplace, we have organized as ACLU Staff United and are part of the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (“NPEU”).
The ACLU’s staff is one of the organization’s greatest assets. Whether in the courts, advocating in communities, leading campaigns, growing our supporter base, building new tech platforms, or managing people and budgets, we engage in the meaningful work that advances our organizational mission.
We are proud to be part of an organization that publicly supports the rights of employees to organize unions and bargain collectively. We believe in the ACLU’s mission, in the work we do, and in each other. Driven by our values, we come to work every day to fight for the rights of all.
We believe that the principles and values that we promote and defend through our work should govern our workplace as well: justice, equity, transparency, cooperation, and respect. To that end, we have decided to come together to represent, support, engage, and empower all staff at the ACLU.
Inspired by our organizational mission and values, as ACLU Staff United, we aim to secure fair and equitable treatment for all those who work at the ACLU. Accordingly, we will work to:
Carry out ACLU’s mission of defending and expanding the rights of all people, including its workers;
Establish a collective voice to speak on behalf of the needs of ACLU staff;
Uphold just working conditions for all ACLU staff, including fair compensation and title structures, as well as fair workplace policies with respect to severance, healthcare, retirement, and other benefits and workplace conditions;
Promote greater transparency and accountability in organizational decision-making by participating in and creating better organizational processes;
Ensure the ACLU’s commitment to anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion among its staff, leadership, board, members, and clients.
By unionizing we hope to strengthen the ACLU’s role in safeguarding civil rights for all people, and to align our organizational mission with our workplace policies. In coming together to improve our working conditions, we believe we will ensure our organization’s continued success as one of the premier civil rights organizations in the country.
