New York Immigration Coalition Staff Launch NYIC United, Forming First-Ever Union in Organization’s History

This week, with 80% of eligible members on cards and 70% signing a voluntary recognition letter, a supermajority of New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) employees announced the launch of their effort to form a union, NYIC United, with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153. For the first time in the organization’s almost 40-year history, workers are launching their union to secure a formal collective voice in the workplace, marking a historic milestone for staff.

NYIC is a New York City-based nonprofit with offices throughout New York State, including in Albany, Buffalo, and Rochester, that brings together more than 200 diverse member organizations to advance justice and opportunity for all. Many workers are immigrants themselves, and their union represents workers from all of the NYIC’s offices statewide and from every department, including Advocacy, Programs, Policy, Development, Operations, Membership and Capacity Building, Communications, and Legal. NYIC also relies on government funding coming from contracts at the state and city levels.

NYIC United presented a voluntary recognition letter to management and is calling on executive leadership to recognize the union swiftly and without any interference. Workers are organizing for increased protections for immigrant workers, support for their immigration cases, financial transparency, and pay equity. The union reflects a shared commitment to both labor rights and immigrant rights, rooted in the belief that the values the organization champions externally must also be upheld in the workplace. Read more from OPEIU Local 153 and from Documented NY!