For immediate release: December 19, 2019

Food & Water Workers’ Union Voluntarily Recognized

Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch workers have joined the Nonprofit Professionals Employee Union (NPEU)

Washington, D.C. — Leadership at Food & Water Action, and its affiliated organization, Food & Water Watch, have agreed to voluntarily recognize their staff’s union with the Nonprofit Professionals Employee Union (NPEU), or IFPTE, Local 70, as their collective bargaining representative. Nearly 80 workers from many parts of the country will be in the union.

In a memo announcing the formation of their union, workers wrote:

“As an organization, we advocate for union power in the WATER Act and a real Green New Deal because we recognize the critical importance of protecting union labor and not leaving workers behind in our fight for a better world. We believe that a union will allow us to truly live up to our values; will give us a tangible way to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplace; and will show the rest of the world how truly invested we are in the right of workers to make a fair living on a livable planet.”

A card check was conducted today in D.C. by Jobs with Justice Deputy Director Mackenzie Baris and former Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch Research Director Patrick Woodall.

Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch leadership has demonstrated its support of workers and their right to organize by voluntarily recognizing the union. Both parties look forward to working together to build a stronger organization.

“NPEU enthusiastically welcomes the workers of Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch into the union,” said NPEU President Kayla Blado. “Together, we’ll build a working partnership between the labor movement and the environmental movement, dovetailing our goals to stop corporate greed and restore power to working people.”

“Stopping climate change and protecting our food and water are the most critical issues facing humanity. Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch fight every day to support those goals. It’s important that all of us stay focused on that critical work,” said Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch Founder and Executive Director. “Since our founding, Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch have worked closely with many unions to advance our mission. Indeed, our fight against the corporations that are pillaging our environment and our longstanding support for the rights of workers go hand in hand. We look forward to our collaboration and partnership with the Food & Water Workers’ Union to protect our food, water and climate.”

To request an interview or for more information, please contact:

For NPEU: Katie Barrows, kbarrows@npeu.org, (360) 624-6936,

For Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch: Michael Doerrer, mdoerrer@fwwatch.org, (202) 683-2467

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