NEW YORK, Jan 24, 2025 – Workers at Democracy Works, a nonpartisan voter education organization, ratified their first labor contract with the News Media Guild, the union announced. The pact, ratified Thursday, guarantees yearly pay raises, establishes job security, and secures other important workplace rights at the leading civic technology nonprofit organization.
The contract offers workplace protections for the next three years to 34 employees across several departments, including engineering, research, partnerships, and more. The agreement was reached after nearly three years of collective bargaining efforts.
Millions of U.S. voters rely on Democracy Works for timely, accurate, and comprehensive guidance regarding all aspects of elections, including: voter registration requirements and deadlines, ballot content, mail voting and early voting periods, Election Day voting, and details about the post-election experience. It provides information to voters through in-house tools – like TurboVote and the Democracy Works API – as well as through partnerships with major tech companies, to reach millions of users nationwide. Democracy Works also partners with businesses, universities, and nonprofits to help every voter use their voice.
To ensure the data is accurate and authoritative, Democracy Works maintains relationships with state and local election officials across the United States.
“Over the course of a 3-year bargaining fight, our unit has seen many different faces, but the mission of fighting for a more democratic workspace is felt the moment you join the Democracy Workers Collective,” said Clem Vasquez, election researcher and coordination chair of the NMG bargaining unit. “Thanks to the tireless work of all of our members, both past and present, we have secured a collective bargaining agreement that moves us in the right direction and will help provide security to those who do the work of delivering the best election data to the millions of voters who engage with our work.”
Vin Cherwoo, president of the News Media Guild, added: “This was a long process for our fellow guild members at Democracy Works. It is great to see all their hard work and dedication pay off with a first contract.”
The contract provides a variety of benefits to all union members. The agreement takes effect immediately and expires in 2028. The agreement:
- Expands protections against discrimination and harassment, ensuring proactive diversity initiatives, robust accommodations, and structured processes for addressing workplace equity and inclusion.
- Guarantees annual wage increases for all members with the option for additional increases based on organizational financial performance.
- Defines minimum salaries for all member positions.
- Ensures all promotions include a 5% or greater raise.
- Formalizes performance evaluations and development reviews to foster growth and recognize achievements.
- Guarantees all members with $1000 and scheduled time for professional development.
- Specifies layoff protections including recall rights and guaranteed severance.
- Secures 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave for both full-time and part-time employees, with flexibility to use leave before or after childbirth or adoption.
- Ensures appropriate use and training opportunities related to the use of emerging technologies, including AI.
- Allocates safe & company-wide spaces to connect with union members & discuss union news within the Democracy Work’s digital ecosystem.
During the bargaining process, the unit took multiple collective actions, including a sick-out for guaranteed promotional raises, utilizing social media to create external pressure, and an informational Zoom picket to highlight what it was fighting for and the roadblocks it was encountering.
Staff at Democracy Works voted overwhelmingly to unionize in August 2021, and collective bargaining with DW management has been ongoing since February 2022.
The Democracy Workers Collective is a unit of the News Media Guild (NMG), which also represents employees at The Associated Press, the U.S. staff of The Guardian, the Financial Times, the Madrid-based EFE News Service, and Oxford University Press.
NMG is Local 31222 of the The NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO.
For additional information, contact the Guild at guild@newsmediaguild.org or 212-869-9290.