Organizing Update

AppFolio

The human operators behind AppFolio’s award-winning artificial intelligence software, Lisa, became the latest CODE-CWA tech workers to form a union after winning their National Labor Relations Board election last week. Their union, Lisa Operators United-CWA (CWA Local 7026) includes 75 Lisa Operators and Senior Operators as well as a group of artists, actors, and musicians who work on the property management software. The workers, who had to overcome an astronomical turnover rate in order to reach a super-majority, organized for nine months before requesting voluntary recognition. In addition, the workers launched their “Not a Bot” campaign in response to the company obnoxiously naming the Lisa bot as Employee of the Year in 2021, totally disregarding the value of the workers’ contributions. Check out their inspiring campaign here.

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New York Film and Television Post Production Coordinators

A group of freelance post production coordinators in New York unanimously voted for union representation to join CWA Local 1101, becoming the first post production coordinators in New York’s motion picture industry to win formal union representation. The workers filed for separate National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections at eight major studios including Apple, Netflix, CBS, HBO, and Universal Television. This victory marks the first time workers employed by Apple, which has launched an anti-union campaign at its retail stores, have won an NLRB election for union representation. Post production coordinators in New York’s scripted film and TV industry have consistently delivered superior work, contributing to the delivery of high-quality content for some of the most esteemed and established studios. Until now, they have lacked union benefits and protections, in an industry where an overwhelming majority of their colleagues have collective bargaining agreements.