NILC Staff Announces Union with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 23, 2020

CONTACT

NPEU: Katie Barrows, NPEU, kbarrows@npeu.org, 360-624-6936
NILC Workers Union: nilcunionmail@gmail.com, @NILCunion

LOS ANGELES — The staff at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) are thrilled to announce our partnership with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU) to form the NILC Workers Union. The NILC Workers Union made a formal request to NILC management for voluntary recognition last week, and we look forward to reaching a formal agreement.

Established in 1979, NILC is one of the leading organizations in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of immigrants with low income. Over the last 40 years, NILC has been at the forefront of many of the country’s greatest challenges when it comes to immigration and has advanced policies that reinforce the values of equality, inclusion, and justice.

The NILC Workers Union, along with NPEU, releases the following statement: 

“We believe that the NILC Workers Union represents our organization’s commitment to being a model for a just and equitable workplace — one that values transparency and empowers all staff, regardless of position, to have a say in the strategic direction of the organization. We are proud to stand with so many of our colleagues to take this exciting step of requesting voluntary recognition of our union,” said representatives of the NILC Workers Union. “We believe that as an organization that works to advance justice, NILC must enact the same values internally that we are fighting for in the broader world, including intersectional economic, racial, and gender justice. By uniting to create the NILC Workers Union, we workers have an opportunity to model what we want our communities to be — rooted in basic human rights, dignity for all, and fair and equitable access to opportunities so we all may thrive.”

“We’re excited to welcome the NILC Workers Union to NPEU,” said NPEU President Kayla Blado. “We know that a unionized workplace is a just workplace and look forward to NILC management recognizing their staff’s union.

About NPEU:

The Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU) is a local of IFPTE and represents professionals employed at more than 20 nonprofit organizations, including employees at Economic Policy Institute, the Center for American Progress, and Community Change. With several hundred members, NPEU gives nonprofit workers a voice to strengthen their workplaces and continue to do work that makes a difference in people’s lives.

###