Staffers with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN), the largest statewide nonprofit association in the country, announced Friday that they are forming a union.
Employees of the St. Paul-based group, which started in 1987 and has about two dozen workers and a $3.8 million annual budget, seek to join the Minnesota Newspaper and Communications Guild. An election will be held in April to establish the union and begin contract negotiations if successful.
In a statement, the organization said it is "energized to explore the proposal" and will listen to all parties involved at a board meeting Tuesday. Executive Director Jon Pratt has the authority to voluntarily recognize the union.
Amber Davis, a nonprofit services assistant at MCN, said the union plan has majority support from the nonmanagement employees who would be voting and that organizing workers at MCN has been a "long time coming."
Reasons to form a union, Davis said, include limited transparency on policy changes, dismissive behavior toward workers and high turnover.
"We just feel like change is overdue at MCN," Davis said. "We're no longer accepting of working at the expense of our professional goals, our mental and physical health, and our time."
The nonprofit council joins a nationwide trend of nonprofits organizing amid job cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially museums and arts organizations.
Last year, staffers at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis won voluntary union recognition in December with AFSCME Council 5. The staff of Jewish Community Action joined the Office and Professional Employees International Union.
