No more delays! Sign the union contract NOW!

“The organizations that fund our movements for social

change should reflect the world we hope to build.”

- DrewChristopher Joy, Southern Maine Workers’ Center (Muste grantee),
in a letter of solidarity sent to the Muste Staff Union

@ajmuste: No more delays!
Sign the contract with @musteunion NOW!

The staff at the nonprofit A.J. Muste Memorial Institute won recognition of our independent AJ Muste Staff Union in late 2014. Our union values the Institute’s mission to provide resources and support for grassroots social justice organizing. From the start, we have strived for a collaborative, respectful process that honors A.J. Muste’s labor and civil rights legacy. We believe social justice organizations should be proud to work collaboratively with unionized staff.

Unfortunately, the Muste Institute brought in an attorney from a firm that boasts of keeping workplaces “union free.” With this lawyer dominating the bargaining process, we’ve been repeatedly subjected to insults, delay tactics, provocations, lies, deceptions, multiple cancellations of meetings, refusal to bargain, and many other unfair labor practices straight out of the union-busting playbook.

In August 2017, the Muste Institute fired longtime Program Manager Jane Guskin in retaliation for union activity. In December, a National Labor Relations Board investigation determined that the firing was a violation of the staff’s collective rights. The Institute settled the charge by compensating Jane and posting a notice (see image above) promising to respect the right to organize. While settlements never require an admission of guilt, an NLRB notice is posted only when evidence is overwhelming that the employer broke the law.

Despite these attacks, we have remained committed to dialogue, and on February 20, we finally reached agreement with the Muste Institute management negotiation team on a collective bargaining agreement.

Since then the Muste Institute has delayed signing the agreement, claiming they are still reviewing it, even though it’s their own “best and final offer” and they have insisted since December that they would not accept further changes. They now say they will meet on April 18 to “review” the contract and will let us know their “response” on April 20—implying that they may vote to reject it.

This is unacceptable. Since July 2016, the Muste Institute has refused to pay staff any cost of living increases, telling us we had to accept their version of the contract if we wanted our annual raises. The nearly three-year pay freeze is causing serious hardship for the underpaid staff and their families.

Tell the Muste Institute:
No more delays!! Respect the bargaining process and sign the contract!

You can contact the Muste Institute directly via its website or via mail, email or phone (212-533-4335), or post messages on Facebook or Twitter, tagging @ajmuste and copying our @musteunion. A list of the Muste Institute staff and board of directors is here; if you know the executive director or any of the board members personally, we encourage you to reach out to them to ask why they are delaying signing the contract.

For more information, contact the AJ Muste Staff Union at musteunion(at)gmail.