Bend the Arc staff form union with Nonprofit Professional Employees Union
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Katie Barrows, NPEU, kbarrows@npeu.org, 360-624-6936
Logan Smith, Bend the Arc, lsmith@bendthearc.us, 202-709-8825
NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2021- The staff of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice have joined together with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU) to form the Bend the Arc Workers Union, the two organizations announced today. The union has received voluntary recognition from management.
The Bend the Arc Workers Union works to support the interests of Bend the Arc staff, and promote solidarity and equity while advancing social, racial, and economic justice in our workplace and in our communities.
“Bend the Arc is organizing the Jewish community to fight for a country where all of us are safe, free, and thriving — and we want the same for our workplace,” said the Bend the Arc Workers Union organizing committee. “We are excited to have another tool to support Bend the Arc’s mission internally, and continue our goals for anti-racism within the organization. In forming a union, we draw from a long legacy of Jewish labor organizing in the United States and across the world, individually and collectively grounded in our ancestors’ fights for workers rights and collective power.”
“We are proud to voluntarily recognize the Bend the Arc Workers Union,” said Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice. “At Bend the Arc, we believe this can be a country for all of us — where everyone can thrive, no matter what we look like, how we pray, or where we come from. We strive to nurture and maintain an equitable organization while we organize American Jews to build a more equitable society. We are confident that having everyone at the table will help advance these goals.”
“We’re excited to welcome the Bend the Arc Workers Union to the NPEU,” said NPEU President Katie Barrows. “Workers know the changes and realities that will best benefit them, and forming the Bend the Arc Workers Union will allow all employees across identity and hierarchy to express their needs and to be part of a workplace that can best support what matters to its workers.”
About Bend the Arc:
Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice is uniting a movement of tens of thousands of progressive Jews across the country who are fighting for justice and equality for all. It is the only national Jewish organization focused exclusively on social change in the United States.
About NPEU:
The Nonprofit Professional Employees Union, a local of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, represents professionals employed at more than 30 nonprofit organizations (and counting), 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.