Worker Unionization in Nonprofit Organizations: What are They Organizing for and Is It Working?

• In Event: Professional Associations & Nonprofit Labor as Catalysts for Change

Abstract

With income inequality growing and the cost of living continuously increasing, labor relations in the United States have changed notably in recent years. In 2022, over 70% of Americans approved of labor unions—the highest approval percentage since 1965 (Mccarthy, 2022). With this burst of support, recent union drives at major corporations such as Starbucks and Amazon led to union victories for service and retail workers (Mccarthy, 2022; Covert, 2023). Nonprofit human services workers face many of the same labor issues—such as low compensation, job insecurity, and substandard work environments—as other service workers (Burghardt, 2020; Zhao et al., 2022) and thus are also unionizing (Kutz, 2021; Satow, 2023; OPEIU, 2023). OPEIU (Office and Professional Employees International Union) alone has unionized over 60 nonprofits in recent years.

In their attempt to unionize, nonprofit human services workers face unique challenges primarily because of the unique funding structure of nonprofit organizations (Capulong, 2006; Karger & Lonne, 2013). Unlike for-profit employers, nonprofit employers often are government contractors and/or charitable organizations with little to no control over their revenues (Parrott & Kramer, 2017; Zhao et al., 2022). Therefore, many nonprofit managers argue that unions do not make sense in nonprofit organizations and unions would not help improve wages because this is a union-nonprofit-funder triangular relationship where the funder, rather than nonprofits, control the prices (Peters & Masaoka, 2000; Zhao et al., 2023).

Limited empirical research exists, however, on nonprofit union organizers—both from nonprofits and the unions that try to unionize nonprofit organizations—about their views and experiences. What are some specific issues that nonprofit workers are unionizing for? What are the outcomes of their organizing efforts? What does having a union mean for workers and what do they think of the argument that unions do not make sense in nonprofits? To answer these questions, we conducted in-depth interviews with 20 union organizers (15 from nonprofits and 5 from unions) based in New York City, a relatively pro-union town.

We found that nonprofit workers organized to challenge the labor donation norm—we call it “mission penalty”—held by nonprofit employers in which they expect workers to sacrifice on wages because “You do it because you love it.” Issues that motivate workers to unionize include pay-related issues (e.g., low, and stagnant wages, pay disparities), working conditions issues (e.g., job security, high staff turnover, remote work options, unreasonable workload), and workers’ rights issues (e.g., having a say in organizational decision-making). As for outcomes, most unionized workers achieved significant gains in pay increases and improvements in working conditions. Workers and union organizers believe that 1) nonprofit worker unionization is not only about pay and money; 2) there is always some room in the pie to be divided more fairly to workers and nonprofit management have some control over the size of the pie through advocacy and fundraising. Implications to worker unionization in the nonprofit-union-funder triangular relationship is discussed.

References

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Authors

• Rong Zhao, CUNY-Hunter College

• Rachel Welch, CUNY-Hunter College

• Theresa Anasti, Washington University at St. Louis