Update: Staffers at ACLU of Virginia won voluntary recognition of their union on Nov. 12, 2021.
Staffers at the ACLU of Virginia announced Wednesday that they are unionizing, becoming the 10th ACLU affiliate to join the burgeoning labor movement.
In unionizing, the ACLU of Virginia United will join ACLU chapters in North Carolina, Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota, which are part of Guild, and affiliates in New York, Northern California, Southern California, Maryland and Georgia.
Phuong Tran, a digital communications manager for the organization, said she was inspired to get involved in the union campaign by her coworkers and by the social justice movements in Richmond, where she lives. “There’s a momentum,” she said.
For a long time, staffers – especially support staff – have felt that their opinions are not being heard, Tran said. And many deserve to be paid more than they are getting.
For her, forming a union is about ensuring that everyone has equal opportunities and a voice in the organization. She’s hopeful that management will voluntarily recognize the union.
Her colleagues at ACLU-MN Staff United greeted news enthusiastically: “You heard it here first, folks—we’re unionizing ALL the ACLUs. Y’all just watch. Show them what we’re all about,” they said.
Follow the ACLU of Virginia United on Twitter @ACLUVA_United.