Media contact:
Kathleen Floyd, WBNG Communications: kfloyd@wbng.org
WASHINGTON– The AAJCollective, the union representing staff at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (AAJC), has ratified its first-ever collective bargaining agreement. This hard-won contract delivers transformative improvements for workers across the organization.
The agreement, reached following more than a year and a half of negotiations and a March 2026 one-day walkout, establishes a strong foundation of fair wages, robust benefits, and meaningful job protections for all bargaining unit employees.
“This contract is proof of what workers can achieve when we stand together,” said the AAJCollective bargaining committee. “Civil rights organizations must model the values they preach. We are proud to have won an agreement that protects our workers and strengthens the mission we all came here to serve.”
Key wins include:
- Economics
- A $65,000 salary floor for all bargaining unit employees
- A new transparent step scale with clear placement criteria based on experience and education
- Retroactive raises effective January 1, 2026
- An $1,800 annual student loan repayment program
- Remote work protections
- Preservation of remote work status for all current employees
- Limitations on in-office work requirements for future employees
- Leaves of absence and vacation
- 12 weeks of paid parental leave, expanded from previous policy
- 4 weeks of paid medical leave
- Addition of cultural holidays
- Summer Fridays in August
- Health and wellness
- Maintenance of existing health insurance coverage
- A stipend for employees who opt out of AAJC-provided insurance
- Access to sick and personal days upon hire, with a 3-month probationary period
- Job security and workplace stability
- 60 days notice of layoffs, except in exigent circumstances
- Limitations on the use of short-term employees and non-employee personnel
- A clear, defined process when AAJC seeks to change a job description
- Specific criteria for merit-based promotions
- Worker safety
- A prohibition on ICE entering AAJC workspaces, which is a critical protection for an organization whose mission centers the rights of immigrant communities
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ABOUT THE AAJCOLLECTIVE
The AAJCollective is a union by and for the junior staffers at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, one of the affiliates in the Advancing Justice network. We were formed in July 2023 and have been a proud member of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild ever since. Our core values are accountability, care, community, and trust.
ABOUT THE WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE NEWS GUILD
The Washington-Baltimore News Guild is Local 32035 The NewsGuild-CWA and represents more than 3,000 news, information, nonprofit and labor organization workers in the mid-Atlantic and beyond, including the Washington Post, Environmental Defense Fund, AFL-CIO, PEN Guild and the American Nurses Association (ANA). Together, we hold our employers accountable and ensure that our workplaces reflect our values, which include ensuring everyone is free from harassment and retaliation, earns equal pay for equal work and has a voice in their workplace.