Update on unionization efforts at American Progress

Dear Members of the Board: I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am writing to let you know that some junior staff members at American Progress have informed us that they have voted to unionize with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 70. This union focuses on representing workers at nonprofit organizations and has organized at other progressive think tanks including the Economic Policy Institute and Center for Economic and Policy Research. As we did with ThinkProgress, we will review the proposed bargaining unit to ensure that it is legally appropriate, and we may negotiate with the union over who is and is not included in the bargaining unit, given the diversity in the positions at CAP. We want this process to be amicable, but also to respect the rights of our employees - both those who support the union and those who have reservations - in keeping with CAP's stated policy positions on workers' organizational rights. Our approach will seek to avoid any public suggestion of a CAP double standard, while also ensuring that broad organizational interests in effective management are protected. The organizing employees have stated that they like working at CAP, and recognize that their working conditions are good. For this reason, we hope that bargaining with the union will not be particularly contentious. However, as I said before, in these negotiations, we will aim to retain the management flexibility needed to continue to be a nimble and dynamic institution. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I welcome your reactions. And as always, thank you for all you do for CAP. Best, Neera