FAQs

What started EDF Together?

While all workplaces could benefit from the protections a union can provide, EDF Together was sparked by staff efforts to understand and address internal challenges over the last few years, including those brought to a head by major external currents of economic and political change. In seeking a constructive path to communicate concerns and potential solutions, EDF staff realized that many of our peer organizations (including NRDC, LCV, and Sierra Club) have unions. This led a group of EDF staff to form a volunteer Organizing Committee to systematically gauge interest in unionizing across departments.

Through one-on-one conversations with our coworkers, the Organizing Committee quickly found that EDFers were overwhelmingly excited about the prospect of unionizing. As momentum built, the Organizing Committee weighed pathways to formalizing the effort, and eventually reached out to the Washington-Baltimore News Guild (WBNG) for support as a parent union. 

Who is WBNG? What is a ‘parent union’?

A parent union pools the resources of similar sibling unions (in our case, unions like those at NRDC, LCV, the Washington Post, American Nurses Association, and more) to provide legal and technical support that each of our smaller unions would struggle to afford alone. EDF staff organizers considered multiple options for associating with a parent union early on, and ultimately selected Washington-Baltimore News Guild (WBNG) through a ranked choice voting process. Once we have officially certified EDF Together through a voluntary card check or union election (more on that below), WBNG will become the exclusive legal representative for collective bargaining for employees in the union at EDF.

After we negotiate and ratify our first contract, union eligible staff will pay dues of 1.44% of our salaries to WBNG, which helps to cover the important resources WBNG provides as a parent union. We intend for our new contract to more than offset the cost of these dues - whether through layoff protections, promotion process transparency, raises, or other improvements. Unionized staff will vote to ratify our contract and will play a direct role in shaping what EDF Together prioritizes and wins.

Someone external is asking about the union. What should I do?

Please direct any outside inquiries, especially press inquiries, to together4edf@gmail.com. We have spokespeople prepared to respond to any press, and we want to ensure that public messaging accurately represents the unit. For anything else, we are always ready and excited to answer questions, including from eligible and ineligible EDF staff.

What happens now that EDF Together has launched?

On Tuesday, December 2nd, EDF Together sent the EDF Executive Management Team (EMT) a request for voluntary recognition of our union, citing that a supermajority of eligible staff have already signed official union authorization cards. The EMT chose not to voluntarily recognize us and instead are taking us to a private election administered by the American Arbitration Association run from January 12 to January 23. While this decision was out of step with similar environmental organizations that voluntarily recognized their unions, EDF Together secured important voting protections including electronic voting, anonymity, and confidentiality. EDF Together will be officially certified if a simple majority (50%+1) of eligible staff vote “yes” in the election.

How does eligibility work? Who is eligible?

In general, EDFers that are legally eligible for the union are those based in the United States who don’t have any full-time direct reports (excluding interns). This determination is based on criteria under the National Labor Relations Act. After over 20 hours of negotiation with the EMT, EDF Together secured a bargaining unit of over 460 eligible EDFers. That was made possible by the over 100 eligible EDFers that showed up to support their colleagues whose eligibility was disputed by the EMT.

Naturally, eligibility will ebb and flow over time: some people will become ineligible by gaining a direct report, while others may become eligible if their direct report leaves EDF or changes managers, for example. If you have any questions about your eligibility, please reach out to together4edf@gmail.com. 

What could EDF Together win?

Below are some examples of union successes from similar organizations represented by our parent union, WBNG. See Green Unions 101 for more details and examples.

• League of Conservation Voters’ contract won an average of 10% raises, improved their health insurance, established a conflict intervention process, enshrined sabbatical and student loan forgiveness programs, improved equitable hiring standards, and more.
• Natural Resources Defense Council is still negotiating their first contract, but as a recognized unit they were already able to convert recent layoffs into voluntary buy-outs, and increase severance packages from 3 months to 6 months minimum. They also attest to the new sense of community in their workplace; this has improved collaboration and empowered staff, thanks to increased job security. 

What are ‘status quo’ protections? Could our benefits get worse? 

EDF HR stated in an April 2025 all-US staff call that worker benefits “would not get worse” under a union. In fact, EDF is legally required to maintain status quo conditions during bargaining. “Status quo” refers to a clause in the National Labor Relations Act that prohibits employers from changing or worsening working conditions while a union negotiates their contract. In practice, this means that if EDF wanted to make major changes like layoffs or restructuring before a contract was ratified, they would have to negotiate with the Bargaining Committee over the terms, rather than making unilateral decisions. 

What is the Bargaining Committee?

The Bargaining Committee will be a group of EDF Together members that union eligible staff will elect to represent us in negotiating a contract, also known as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), with the Executive Management Team (EMT). The Bargaining Committee will solicit feedback and ideas from all union eligible staff to gauge the unit’s overarching priorities for negotiation, put together a proposal to begin negotiations with the EMT, and collaborate with EDF leadership to shape an agreement to improve our workplace. 

How will the union benefit ineligible EDF staff, including People Managers?

Union contracts can help to establish clarity for previously opaque processes like promotions, pay raises, and redress of grievances, benefitting both eligible and ineligible staff. Unions can also help reduce turnover, improve worker satisfaction, and attract talented staff, allowing us to focus and deliver on our mission. This benefits everyone at EDF and strengthens our long-term impact!

People Managers at any organization might often feel caught between supporting their teams and navigating organizational constraints. By giving staff increased ownership of their workplace, serving as a protected channel for addressing grievances related to employment terms, and working to ensure equity and fairness, we hope EDF’s union will empower managers and their direct reports to focus on EDF’s mission.

How can I support the union as a People Manager? 

Thanks for asking! Here are some helpful options for showing support as we seek recognition from the EDF Executive Management Team:

1. Update your Slack status to the EDF Together emoji (found under :edf-together:) with the text “I support the EDF union.”
2. Change your Teams background to one of the EDF Together backgrounds.
3. Combat misinformation where you see it and stay informed via our website and social media. 

What is ‘union busting’? How likely is it at EDF?

We have all heard stories of bosses who want to limit the impact of staff organizing to maintain unilateral decision making power. At the non-profit employers represented by WBNG, staff typically haven’t seen egregious union busting tactics like mass firings. However, sometimes employers will pursue disruptive methods that attempt to slow organizing down, sow doubt, or divide the unit. But no matter what, EDF relies on its workers to make the work possible, and our collective power and solidarity will get us through any type of anti-union campaign.

How have unions benefited U.S. workers and employers?

The quick summary is that we would not have an eight hour workday, a five day workweek, child labor protections (Fair Labor Standards Act), protections from workplace hazards (OSHA), or even a Department of Labor without unions. Each of these basic rights and resources that we now take for granted only exists thanks to decades of workers fighting for these rights. Research shows other broad benefits as well, such as: 

• Fair Wages: Compared to non-unionized workers, median union wages were about 18% higher in 2023, and union members often enjoy better benefits.
• Improved Pay Equity: Unions help narrow historic gaps in median household wealth, including along lines of race and education.
• Civic Engagement: Unionized workers vote 12 percent more often than nonunion workers.
• Children’s Education & Income: Children from union households tend to achieve higher average education levels, and parental union membership is correlated with children’s future income.