FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ucastaffunion@gmail.com
OMAHA, NE – Yesterday, workers at The Union for Contemporary Art, an arts and culture nonprofit in Omaha, NE, publicly announced the intention to unionize with The NewsGuild-CWA, joining the Denver Newspaper Guild, Local 37074. A supermajority of staff signed union cards and demanded voluntary recognition at the start of the working day on February 25, 2025.
Forming a union is a natural extension of the organization’s stated values. The Union for Contemporary Art has long been a leader in the community, both externally in its commitment to social justice and internally in its advancement of human-centered workplace policies.
“It is my hope that The Union Union will be a source of inspiration for other nonprofits in our city,” said Jessica Freeman, Exhibition + Residencies Manager. “I believe that all workers deserve a voice in the operation of their organization, and the joys of collaboration and solidarity with their coworkers.”
“The creation of an organized staff labor not only would benefit the workers here but the organization as a whole,” said Joey Lynch, Installations + Facilities Director. “It epitomizes the values and mission we have upheld here for over a decade and want to solidify for all the years to come.”
In a blatant violation of these values, the union members who delivered their cards were blocked from entering the conference room by a private security guard, and the Executive Director refused to speak with them. The demand for voluntary recognition had to be emailed to the Executive Director and Board Chair instead.
On the same day that workers delivered the agreement, five longtime staff members received notices of separation via email, phone call, and, in one case, voicemail. These workers perform essential, mission-critical functions at The Union: leading workshops for local artists, mentoring neighborhood youth, planning and executing fundraising events, and more. Collectively, these workers have over twenty-five years of service at The Union. All five were signatories of the demand for voluntary recognition.
“These team members play an essential role in serving our mission,” said Lynch. “They should be here, doing their work and moving our mission forward. That’s what they deserve, it’s what our community deserves, and it’s what our funders deserve.”
The firings were retaliatory and workers have filed a ULP charge with the National Labor Relations Board to that effect. Management gave no response to the demand for voluntary recognition, but workers filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board. The staff looks forward to achieving their demand for voluntary recognition of The Union Union.
Please join almost 2,000 community members in signing the Statement of Support. We encourage supporters to follow @TheUnionUnion on Instagram for updates.
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ABOUT THE UNION UNION
The Union Union is a bargaining unit of the Denver Newspaper Guild, Local 37074 of The NewsGuild-CWA, which represents more than 27,000 journalists, media workers, interpreters, nonprofit workers, and staff at other labor unions. The Guild is the largest union of journalists in North America, operating in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. The Guild is a sector of the Communications Workers of America, which represents employees in telecommunications, the airline industry, broadcast and cable television, health care, public service and education, law enforcement, manufacturing, and other fields.