New York Immigration Coalition management seeks to shrink workers' new union

Workers at New York Immigration Coalition who unionized last month say that management's bad-faith bargaining and attempts to carve over a dozen members out of the nascent union show that the immigrant rights organization is failing to live up to its professed pro-worker values.

In June, over 40 NYIC workers notified management that they had signed union authorization cards to join Local 153 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union and requested voluntary recognition of their union. There were signs that management would quickly offer that recognition, but those hopes dissipated when NYIC retained a law firm known by Local 153's leadership for its delay and union busting tactics and then requested to revise the bargaining unit. 

Lawyers with Kauff McGuire & Margolis have since argued that under federal law, more than a dozen workers, including NYIC’s entire communications and development teams, should be excluded from the union, workers said. 

"Management is really just trying to weaponize the law and slow down our union process,” said Kaija Groom, a community programming manager at NYIC for almost five years. “The longer they draw out this process, the more they'll beat people down and wear down our union. It's a well-known tactic.” 

On Tuesday, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB, alleging that NYIC management was bargaining in bad faith about the bargaining unit size. 

“We're pissed,” said Nick Galipeau, Local 153’s Secretary-Treasurer. “The only reason why NYIC wants to exclude these workers is so the employer can have more leverage to bust the union when they get to [contract] negotiations.” 

Management has been open about its disagreement with the union over the bargaining unit size. 

In an email update sent to staff in late June, Murad Awawdeh, the executive director of NYIC, wrote that the union’s proposed bargaining unit “includes several individuals who we believe qualify as supervisors and confidential employees and should therefore be excluded.” 

A week later, Awawdeh wrote in an email that the organization is “prepared and ready to voluntarily recognize the union once we reach agreement on the scope of the bargaining unit.” 

Max Shannon, a legal assistant at NYIC and member of the union’s organizing committee, insists the disagreement is a delay tactic. “I do not believe they are negotiating in good faith,” he said.  

In 2024, the most recent year when financial records are available, NYIC brought in nearly $23 million dollars in revenue. The immigration advocacy organization, a coalition of more than 200 organizations in the state, employs more than 90 people across several cities in New York State, though its biggest contingent is in the city.  

'They walked out'

In a statement responding to charges brought by workers of stalling bargaining, a spokesperson for NYIC said the organization respects staff's right to organize and has never refused to recognize the union. 

“Our disagreement is narrow: whether a small number of roles with confidential or supervisory duties belong in the bargaining unit,” the spokesperson said. “That's a standard question in any organizing process. While the union has so far declined to negotiate on it directly, we are ready and committed to work through it with them.” 

Workers insist that it is management and their lawyers who have so far refused to negotiate productively over the size of the bargaining unit.

“They walked out of our most recent negotiating session,” said Groom. “Management and their lawyer refused to have that conversation with us and said it was a complete waste of time to have that conversation and instead decided to leave.” 

The union will rally Thursday to highlight the unfair labor practice charge and protest management's actions.

Once the union and management reach agreement on the size of the bargaining unit, management could still voluntarily recognize the union. Otherwise, an election would have to be held, which the union, given the overwhelming number of workers who have signed union authorization cards, is confident it would win. 

After that, both sides would begin to bargain for workers’ first contract. 

But Shannon has been disappointed with management's posture so far, and expects that any future bargaining delays will be aimed at sapping workers' spirits.

"It's really disheartening to see management hiring union busting lawyers to drag this process out so much and really tire us out as workers, to make us feel this effort is not possible." Shannon said. "They are trying to drive us out."