After over a year and a half of bargaining, we are proud to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with management on our first ever collective bargaining agreement!! 🎉🎉
Today,
@splcenter
- an organization with nearly a billion dollars in reserves, given an F rating by CharityWatch for “hoarding” donations - gutted its staff by a quarter.
In a momentous move, staff
@splcenter
— a historic Civil Rights organization advancing social justice through legal, educational and advocacy work primarily in the Deep South — are forming a union.
#UnionizeTheDeepSouth
A supermajority of
@splcenter
staff signed union authorization cards and filed an election petition with the NLRB. We asked leadership to voluntarily recognize
#splcunion
. Instead, they hired a "union avoidance" law firm. [THREAD]
CEO and President Margaret Huang announced that the cuts would allow greater “focus” on racial justice, but failed to explain how eliminating immigrant justice work and anti-racist education work served that goal.
SPLC’s decision has a catastrophic impact on the organization’s work in support of immigrants seeking justice and its mission to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance human rights through support of educators.
More than 60 SPLC Union members, including five Union stewards and our Union Chair, were informed that they would be losing their jobs. We are devastated for our Union and for our colleagues.
The layoffs of all 16 staff in the Southern Immigrant Freedom Initiative and its office closure will decimate free legal representation to detained immigrants across Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Functionally eliminating the Learning for Justice department leaves educators, students, and caregivers without resources and support in building curricula and orienting classrooms toward justice work.
Make no mistake - laying off dozens of employees, many of whom were Union activists, less than a year before we will bargain our second contract was no coincidence.
With nearly a billion dollar endowment and Huang earning $500,000 per year, how does abandoning SPLC’s commitments help advance the human rights of all people? Are these the actions of an organization fighting for racial justice in the deep South?
The dismantling of the full Immigrant Justice team ends SPLC’s decade-long commitment to the rights of migrant workers and the deep coalition work to advocate for immigrants’ rights and decriminalize migration across the Southeast.
This is designed to punish Union activists and intimidate employees just as we saw when Mercedes-Benz fired Union organizers in Vance, Alabama. Management’s goals here are clear, but they will not win. Our Union is strong.
"The Center cannot truly claim to support workers' rights, while also hiring a 'union avoidance' law firm to prevent its own workers from exercising our right to collective bargaining.” -
#SPLCUnion
Organizing Committee
#UnionizeTheDeepSouth
Well folks, we’ve done it! Our union leadership is proud to announce that SPLC Union members overwhelmingly accepted our collective bargaining agreement, with 99% of members voting yes 🎉🎉 thanks so much to everyone who supported us along the way - now the real work begins! 💪🏻
How will today’s layoffs help us achieve our goals of fighting hate, decarcerating Black and Brown people, defending democracy, and eradicating poverty? The answer is: they won’t.
As attacks on immigrant communities & public education are at an all-time high, Huang has chosen to abandon those individuals, organizations, & communities with whom our staff have relationships & obligations without notice to the community partners and organizations we work with
A supermajority of
@splcenter
staff across all eligible departments and offices are seeking union representation. We will not be intimidated by SPLC leadership or its “union avoidance” law firm. We will see our
#SPLCUnion
drive successfully through an election, if necessary.
.
@splcenter
is telling staff to mislead donors about the impact of its massive layoffs.
In an email, they said that news of the elimination of our immigrant justice work and Learning for Justice was "misinformation."
But how can these programs continue without workers?
A message from SPLC Union officers and stewards:
SPLC Union is and will always be rooted in the legacy of anti-oppression and decolonization led by Black and Indigenous leaders.
With that in mind, SPLC Union stands strongly in solidarity with the Palestinian people. (1/4)
Today is the day
#splcunion
becomes certified.
We are inspired by the work of our colleagues to make this happen.
We are grateful for the support of the
#1u
family.
We are ready to be
#unionstrong
.
Stay tuned for the official certification news.
#unionizethedeepsouth
Today, a supermajority of staff from 11 offices across 5 states in the Deep South & Washington, D.C., filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board requesting representation by
@news_guild
.
#UnionStrong
TODAY‼️ We begin negotiating on our contract. We envision an antiracist, equitable
@splcenter
that values the human and workers' rights of ALL its employees.
We're here to make real change so we won't settle for anything less than full meals.
#NoSnacks
#1u
✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻
In the last month, SPLC has tried to clean up the mess it made laying off its entire immigrant justice (IJ) staff. SPLC's statements have been misleading, which is harmful to the communities we serve. We’re setting the record straight bc we are accountable to our partners. 🧵:
In their own words: "
#HuntonAndrewsKurth
has a successful track record of advising companies and trade groups facing the threat of corporate campaign attacks. ...We have successfully used litigation strategies to bring these campaigns to a halt."
"Our client base includes companies that do not have unions and strongly desire to remain union-free, as well as companies that have historical relationships with organized labor." -
#HuntonAndrewsKurth
#SPLCUnion
#UnionizeTheDeepSouth
40 years after the
#GreensboroMassacre
, we hope to rekindle the flame of labor organizing in the Deep South and form a strong Union at SPLC that lays the foundation for a legacy of equal rights, respect and dignity for all workers that outlives us all.
#UnionizeTheDeepSouth
It’s been a while since we provided our followers with updates, but in the coming weeks, we will be more active on our social media accounts sharing what has been happening with our goals for achieving a fair contract.
Palestinian Lives Matter. Palestinian families matter. Palestinian histories matter. We hold the grief felt by millions in our hearts and feel it in our bodies.
We support the ongoing call for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation. (3/4)
“Current leadership has committed itself to the task of changing
@splcenter
’s workplace culture. Collective bargaining ensures workers the opportunity to play a leading role in this transformation.” — SPLC Union’s Organizing Committee
#SPLCUnion
#OurTimeOurVoice
HAPPENING NOW!
We're holding an informational picket outside
@splcenter
's HQ in Montgomery to protest management’s forcing mostly Black women employees to return to the office while allowing the option of remote work for white & higher-paid employees.
#1u
All workers deserve an environment free of inequity, discrimination, and harrassment. Once our Union is officially formed, staff will collectively determine its goals to shape SPLC into a workplace that lives by its mission internally as well as externally.
#WorkersRights
#1u
"We have represented many companies in connection with wildcat strikes, union-sanctioned work stoppages & picketing activity. This includes picketing at primary sites as well as picketing ... at secondary locations where the object is to put pressure on customers of the client."
.
@splcenter
wants you to believe that there are “[o]ngoing efforts” to protect immigrants in the Deep South from unjust detention, discrimination, and other harms. But it fired everyone who does this work.
We are so grateful for the outpouring of support we've received over the past week since a supermajority of
@splcenter
staff signed union authorization cards and filed an election petition with the NLRB to form
#splcunion
.
#unionizethedeepsouth
The 12 lowest paid workers in our union average about $34,000 per year. SPLC’s CEO makes more money than all 12 of them combined. Of course we could use a break, but we want to get a contract agreed to and approved by our members as soon as possible.
Margaret Huang and
@splcenter
’s leadership would prefer to deceive donors and supporters instead of facing the impact of their own destructive and shortsighted decision-making on the communities we serve.
For the past year SPLC has been negotiating w/ us and our Advocacy and Outreach Paralegals (AOPs) about their futures w/ SPLC and thus SPLC’s future of community engagement. Before getting into SPLC’s troubling actions during this time, let's first say more about who our AOPs are
What we see in Gaza is the violent imperialist desecration of a people – the beginnings of a genocide.
Already, the horrors of Gaza have fueled aggression in our own country in the forms of attacks against Muslims and Sikhs, and outbursts of antisemitism. (2/4)
More soon about our hard fought wins, but today we’re thankful for our members, our union, and (soon enough) OUR CONTRACT!! 🍾 hey
@SPLCUnion
members - watch your email for more soon on how to vote for this thing!
🤯THE ACLU IS TRYING TO BUST OUR UNION🤯
We need your help! We just learned that the
@aclukansas
has hired the second largest anti-union law firm in the nation, Ogletree Deakin, to represent them against our efforts to unionize.
We're so inspired to see other advocacy organizations exercising their collective voice by unionizing.
Solidarity with
@IndivisiUnion
!
#unionstrong
#1u
Since 2016,
@IndivisibleTeam
has worked to build and support thousands of grassroots groups across all 50 states in the fight to create real progressive change. Today, Indivisible staff formed a union in the pursuit of living our values.
“Amazon’s hardball tactics have invited scrutiny from the treasurers of WI, SE, IL and CO, who called this a human rights issue. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and 51 members of Congress have thrown their support behind the union effort.”
"In nearly a decade of writing about Amazon, workers I’ve spoken with have consistently painted a grim picture of daily life inside the company’s warehouses."
#BAmazonUnion
workers are organizing for the dignity and respect they deserve.
#UnionYes
#1u
Were
@splcenter
's layoffs retaliation? President and CEO Margaret Huang might be all smiles in front of the camera, but behind what she thought were closed doors, here’s how she talks about her staff.
@splcenter
It has been TWO YEARS AND THREE MONTHS since 142
@splcenter
employees voted to unionize its workforce. SPLC leadership continues to ignore that mandate by refusing to bargain in good faith and delaying any agreement on a union contract for its staff.
#WeWillNotBeIgnored
Today,
@splcenter
- an organization with nearly a billion dollars in reserves, given an F rating by CharityWatch for “hoarding” donations - gutted its staff by a quarter.
Know your rights! As union employees we now have
#weingarten
rights.
If you are called into a meeting in which you believe you could be disciplined or face changes to your working conditions, you have a right to be joined by a union rep.
#splcunion
#unionizethedeepsouth
#1u
Happy International Workers’ Day, comrades! We’re proud to struggle towards a better world for all of us alongside each of you.
#1u
#unionizethedeepsouth
In the days and weeks to come, we want to share more about some of the things we’re fighting for in a contract. So, be on the lookout for that. In the meantime, we want to share our union's values. They keep us grounded and are central to our fight.
SPLC: We remain committed to advancing immigrants’ rights.
FACT: SPLC leadership have never been to immigration detention, have never spoken to our clients, & have never been to our immigrant worker clinics. They HAVE terminated all staff doing actual immigration justice work.
We stand in solidarity with
@BAmazonUnion
! Please share their stories and support them in their fight for basic dignity, respect, safety and a union that will fight for them!
For more details about tomorrow's event, here's the link to the FB event page👉
“The union hope[s] ‘this historic agreement will inspire others in the nonprofit field to organize their workplace. The more of us in our field who unionize, the better we can serve our missions by practicing what we preach.’”
SPLC: Margaret Huang said helping detained immigrants is like "trying to empty the ocean with the teaspoon."
FACT: SPLC's immigrant justice teams won release for hundreds of detainees, supported thousands more, and have coached countless other advocates. Some teaspoon, eh?
We are in this together and are working to make SPLC a better place for all the staff, not just those at the top who can afford to travel for their vacations.
Today is May 1st, celebrated across the world as International Workers’ Day, held to commemorate labor demonstrations and strikes which brought us such victories as the eight-hour work day, weekends and safety protections.
#MayDay2020
#InternationalWorkersDay
#MayDay
#1u
Many folx have asked us what else they can do to show
#solidarity
with the
#splcunion
. Please take a few minutes to sign this petition letting the
@splcenter
Board and Senior Leadership know you stand with us.
SPLC’s management team said they were not available to meet this month because members of their bargaining committee would be on vacation, but we’re continuing to meet weekly and prepare for bargaining when they return from their vacations.
We did it! 🥳We won our union! ✊🏿✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾Now we can get to work and prepare to meet management at the bargaining table to improve our workplace and better represent our clients. Thank you all for your continued
#Solidarity
!
#UnionStrong
#UAW
#WeAreDefenders
ICYMI, two members of our bargaining committee, Lisa and Katie, had a long convo with Chelsea at
@mainlinezine
this past weekend. Lisa is also a union steward. They’re both amazing. Here’s a thread of some of our favorite highlights 🥰
FACT: Huang & SPLC leadership virtually ignored SPLC staff being harassed by ICE and local rural police during detention center work.
FACT: Huang has never met with our clients, nor our partners. We have had more stakeholder convos with ICE than we have had with SPLC leadership.
#SPLCUnion
elections are in full swing! On Monday, December 16, the National Labor Relations Board will count our votes.
Why vote YES to representation by
@WBNG32035
, you ask?
Here’s why, a thread:
SPLC: Huang said "the best use of our resources, to challenge systemic practices, rather than to represent individuals"
FACT: SIFI was created because it is extractive to ask for info for systemic lawsuits & not respond to the most pressing need: individual immigration counsel.
SPLC: Terminates immigrant justice work citing strategic priorities for racial justice and decarceration in the South.
FACT: Immigrant justice is racial justice. Immigrant decarceration is decarceration. Or does SPLC not believe this?
SPLC: Huang said SPLC believes the representation of detained immigrants is “really, really important” work.
FACT: By June 12, SPLC had already slashed our detained work by 50% by refusing to backfill, while peddling that work for donations & telling staff that jobs were safe.
SPLC: Huang said she has “been trying to wind down” SIFI/ IJ for a couple years.
FACT: Huang and legal leadership have repeatedly told SIFI/ IJ and others that there would be no layoffs, that our jobs were safe, and that the work would continue. Trust has been completely broken.
In the past 50 years, the workers of SPLC have dedicated their lives to racial justice, but SPLC hasn’t made the same commitment. It’s time for a new SPLC in our next 50.
#splc50th
A new variant is emerging, gas prices are higher than ever—why is
@SPLCenter
forcing its lowest-paid Black women workers back to the office during a time when the impacts are most acute, while white employees work comfortably from home?
#LowestPayHighestCost
AOPs are critical members of our legal dept. Daily, their job duties entail paralegal work, investigative work, public policy advocacy work, community organizing & coalition-building work, and strategic communications work.
👏 TODAY 👏 we're presenting our proposed contract to our union members, asking for feedback and answering questions.
We don't plan to ask for peanuts. We want good meals.
Together, we'll transform
@splcenter
into an equitable, antiracist workplace for ALL!
#NoSnacks