OAKLAND, CA (May 16, 2022) – Employees at Impact Justice ​(IJ) overwhelmingly voted to ​form a union with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 29 on May 13, joining thousands of nonprofit employees across the country represented by OPEIU's Nonprofit Employees United (NEU).

Their union, Impact Justice United (IJU)​, sought voluntary recognition from the organization's leadership in February, but after management's concerted attempts to stall and disrupt the process of good-faith negotiations, the bargaining unit filed for an election with the NLRB. Ultimately, a near-unanimous majority (23-3) of eligible employees voted to unionize to make their workplace a more equitable, collaborative and safe environment.

"Having worked at Impact Justice for more than four years, I have seen many employees struggle to change systemic issues within our organization," Kaid Ray-Tipton, a senior program associate at IJ​, said. "I see Impact Justice United as a continuation of previous efforts to ensure our daily practices are living up to our core values of imagination, integrity and liberation.”

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Today’s worldwide celebration by workers, of workers and for workers is a potent reminder of the collective power we share when we — as those who work for a living — stand united in pursuit of a more dignified future for all.

We remember today the historic and heroic struggles waged by generations before us: for an eight-hour day, for a minimum wage, for overtime rights, for the abolition of child labor, for the weekend, for Social Security and more.

But we also know those hard-fought gains are backsliding. Working people are working more for far less. Basic necessities like healthcare, housing and food are, for many, becoming increasingly out of reach at the worst possible time. Younger generations have, on average, little hope things will improve in their lifetimes.

We believe the only way to reverse those trends is by organizing.

OPEIU’s commitment to prioritize organizing the unorganized has paved the way toward historic wins in new industries, amplifying the voices and improving the material conditions of workers in the nonprofit and tech sectors.
Through their union — our union — workers who long had no collective voice now have a vehicle to take power into their own hands.

Read more about recent OPEIU wins across the nation in the first issue of OPEIU Connect, our official magazine.


Happy May Day.
In solidarity,
Team OPEIU

On this day in 1971, the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect. Each year, on the anniversary, the labor movement comes together to honor our fellow workers, union and nonunion alike, who died a preventable death on the job in the last year.

This past year, 4,764 workers were killed on the job. An estimated 120,000 more died from occupational diseases. Sadly, we know the actual number of lives cut short by employer behavior — whether covert, like cutting health benefits during a pandemic, or overt, like failing to provide adequate PPE — is far greater.

Construction sites remain one of the deadliest places to work in the country. But the neglectful actions of employers of all stripes and in every industry — from Amazon and Tesla to Amy’s Kitchen and McLaren Macomb — impact not just their employees' well-being, but the well-being of workers’ families and the communities in which they live.

Honoring those senselessly lost means standing up in unison to say loud and clear: One workplace death is one too many.

Find a Workers Memorial Day event near you by clicking here.

Read the AFL-CIO’s annual report on worker safety and occupational hazards in all 50 states here.

The AFL-CIO's annual report on worker safety and occupational hazards was released today in advance of Workers Memorial Day on April 28. The statistics and figures within are a stark reminder of the necessity of protecting workers on the job in all 50 states and in every single industry.