OUR
APPROACH
Beyond Neutrality means that all parties engaged in staff unionization hold the following three principles.
PRO-UNION
Beyond Neutrality calls on progressive nonprofits to live into their values and welcome unionization. The United States is one of the least unionized countries in the world and has a deeply ingrained culture of union busting. Despite laws that promote employees’ rights to form and join unions, most of us have grown up being inundated with anti-union messaging. If your organization works for democracy and social justice, you likely support workers’ rights and have union allies. You may feel conflicted, however, now that you need to respond to unionization as the employer. If you look around, you will discover very few resources available about how to integrate your values with your role as an employer. Beyond Neutrality not only fills that gap, we see nonprofit unionization as an opportunity to set a new, pro-union path for the nation.
ANTI-RACIST
Beyond Neutrality calls on all parties to use the unionization process to advance racial justice and other equity priorities, and to protect against ways that racism may manifest in the process and have unintended, negative effects on BIPOC staff and/or leadership. Anti-racist work during unionization may include affirming a mutual commitment to building a racially just, equitable and inclusive organization; examining and making decisions about how best to continue existing racial equity and inclusion work during bargaining; and, understanding and combating the racialized and gendered ways BIPOC organizational leaders are often undermined. The Beyond Neutrality approach is committed to supporting BIPOC leadership during the unionization process—not at the expense of the union, but in ways that ensure building a healthy, strong union workplace.
MISSION-DRIVEN
Beyond Neutrality is designed especially (but not exclusively) for nonprofit organizations working to deliver on a mission for social justice or social service. The realities for these organizations involve working to resource work on behalf of or with communities that are historically marginalized, exploited, or oppressed. The question is not how to distribute profits. It is how to imagine, design, and sustain crucial work. The Beyond Neutrality approach works to help these organizations thrive by supporting, engaging, and sharing power with the staff members whose creativity, energy, and brilliance are indispensable to that work.