Unrest in the Sierra Club triggers strike

The Progressive Workers Union (PWU), one of two unions representing employees of the nonprofit environmental organization Sierra Club, has approved the organization’s first strike, according to a a press release dated 27 JuneThe vote took place last Wednesday evening and 82 percent of the 189 union members voted in favor. The strike is scheduled to begin tomorrow.

The vote to authorize the strike came after PWU, along with the Sierra Club’s other union, the Sierra Employee Alliance (SEA), a letter to the board of the organization called for the removal of CEO Ben Jealous and his leadership team. The letter was sent after members of both unions voted for a vote of no confidence in the leadership.

Both the decision to strike and the vote of no confidence come at a time of repeated layoffs and restructuring. Jealous and his management team are accused of embezzling funds, violating the terms of the unions’ collective agreements and cutting jobs to save money instead of reducing their own salaries.

PWU and SEA have accused Sierra Club leadership of various labor law violations over the past year. PWU has filed nine separate unfair labor practice complaints (ULPs) with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), according to a press release dated 5 June.

More from Janie Ekere

The labor turmoil for the long-standing environmental organization comes ahead of a critical election season and could affect the group’s ability to have a voice in a campaign with strong differences on climate policy among the candidates. Donald Trump has threatens various aspects of Joe Biden’s investments in clean energy and regulations, especially electric vehicle regulations. He has promised to increase oil production in the US and reportedly demanded $1 billion from oil company executive in the form of donations in exchange for regulatory relief.

Last MayA list of 30 employees that the Sierra Club leadership wanted to fire was leaked. Three of those employees were on the national unity negotiating team and two were on the PWU executive committee. Erica Dodt, national unity representative and member of the negotiating team, was one of those on the list. Dodt said the leadership fired her in revenge for her negotiating efforts during last year’s layoffs, despite knowing she was pregnant.

“I … was also the lead negotiator on the pregnancy and disability articles during the contract negotiations where we won additional parental leave and tentatively agreed to additional time and parental leave pay in the event someone was involuntarily laid off,” Dodt told the Outlook in an interview.

Dodt, who is scheduled to be officially terminated this month, said Sierra Club leadership denied her and another pregnant employee those benefits, even though they were tentatively approved during contract negotiations.

In the years before Jealous was hired, the Sierra Club experienced several rounds of budget cuts, layoffs and restructuring, largely a result of the pandemic. In those cases, employees who wanted to leave could take voluntary severance under the collective bargaining agreement to prevent involuntary layoffs of other employees. But that changed after Jealous took over, says Dylan Plummer, deputy representative of the Sierra Club’s national unit.

“They basically only offered the voluntary severance program to employees who were already scheduled for involuntary layoff,” Plummer said. “They said you could either accept a voluntary layoff with additional incentives or be involuntarily laid off. It’s basically just a bigger severance package.”

Jealous, the first African-American executive director of the Sierra Club, has an established career as a progressive activist and nonprofit leader. He served as president of the NAACP from 2008 to 2013 and president of People for the American Way from 2020 to 2021. He also ran for governor of Maryland in 2018, losing to Republican incumbent Larry Hogan, who is now running for U.S. Senate.

Former colleagues from Jealous’ previous organizations, some of whom work with him on the Sierra Club’s leadership team, have praised his work. For example, Roger Vann, who worked with Jealous at the NAACP and People for the American Way, to E&E News that he “has a penchant for taking over organizations that need change. Wherever he goes, he will cause disruption.”

In addition to a series of firings, the Sierra Club had also experienced some controversy, including a rape case against a former employee and reports of a toxic work environment. Given his reputation in progressive circles, Sierra Club staff initially celebrated the hiring of Jealous. But as some employees told The New RepublicThe company culture has changed dramatically since he was hired and is now characterized by an atmosphere of uncertainty and intimidation.

Jealous has repeatedly denied these allegations, defending his decisions by saying they were necessary to expand the Sierra Club’s environmental work. In fact, he has dismissed these allegations by accusing union officials of spreading misinformation and disrupting the Sierra Club’s work. He has even suggested that the criticism he has received is racially motivated.

“Their tactic of attacking the brand of this organization for years is unique,” ​​Jealous told E&E News. The outlet also reported that Jealous “accused the union of sending reporters with ‘multiple lies’ to Sierra Club leaders that ‘follow racist stereotypes about black leadership.'”

It should be noted, Dodt said, that there is no evidence that Jealous has filed formal complaints of racism through official Sierra Club channels.

Neither Ben Jealous nor members of his leadership team could be reached for comment.