Today, a supermajority of staff here at Indivisible came together to make an announcement: we’re requesting voluntary recognition of our union, represented by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, Local 32035 of The News Guild-Communication Workers of America, AFL-CIO.

Indivisible is a progressive political advocacy organization that was formed after the 2016 election when former campaign and congressional staffers released a practical guide for resisting the Trump administration. Since then, we’ve grown to become a large and influential player in the progressive political space. Today our movement includes more than 4,500 local Indivisible groups engaged in grassroots advocacy work in their communities and dozens of staff across the country working every day to support the groups and advance Indivisible’s mission. You can learn more about Indivisible by visiting the website or reading the book written by the co-executive directors, or honestly just watching MSNBC (our senior team members are frequent guests on political talk shows).

Indivisible is a really unique and inspiring political experiment, empowering a relatively new constituency of activists committed to building progressive infrastructure throughout the country. We’re taking important and bold stances on issues like eliminating the filibuster, pushing for people-centered immigration reform, expanding the courts, and closing the racial wealth gap. We’re proud to work here, and we’re inspired by the community of activists we get to partner with every day.

So why do we need a union?

Staff at Indivisible, as stewards of a progressive mission and vision for the future, believe we have an obligation to fight for the same values that have guided the Indivisible movement for years. Efforts to push for change should center the needs and experiences of those most impacted by what’s broken, and when enough people come together to raise their voices, they can make a difference that’s greater than the sum of their parts.

We are organizing to build a workplace where all staff are valued, safe, and recognized as true partners in the future of the organization. This decision was not taken lightly. In fact, it’s a decision and conversation that has been happening as long as Indivisible has existed. These types of discussions around why or why not to move forward with the process are likely familiar to anyone who has unionized or considered unionizing, especially in the nonprofit or political world:

This work should be about giving our all to these important fights and unionizing will take too much attention away from the work

We’re too small and too new to rock the boat

We have it good here at Indivisible, better than other places to work

This might cause or deepen a divide between the leaders of the organization and everyone else

But if you’re familiar with conversations like that, it’s because you likely went through the same conditioning that many of us have endured throughout our careers:

Long hours fighting for progressive causes without adequate compensation

Operating in workplaces with minimal long-term investment in staff development

Uncertainty around job security

Little or no opportunity to help shape strategic and long-term planning

Both of these lists could likely go on for a while, but so could the list of all the improvements we believe are possible through the collective bargaining process. By unionizing, we hope to pursue equity, disrupt white supremacy, build solidarity, and unite our colleagues. Too often as workers, we undervalue and convince ourselves that we are not worth what we are. By coming together to form a union, we’re sending a message that we know our worth.

We’re thankful that so many of our colleagues can relate to these kinds of conditions and are therefore ready to create a more safe and equitable workplace. Unionizing is a way of claiming our collective power and doing our part to ensure that we are treated with dignity and respect. Every workplace could benefit from a union, and progressive political organizations are no exception. If you’re reading this and you’re part of an effort to unionize: keep going. Even if it feels difficult, uncertain, or daunting — organizing with your peers to create a better workplace for yourselves and future employees is always worth it.

We are committed to enthusiastically participating in the collective bargaining process and making sure that we all have a voice in our already people-powered organization because we know we deserve it. Indivisible will be better for it.

To keep up with the Indivisible Union, follow us on Twitter @IndivisiUnion