The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a formal complaint against Defenders of Wildlife, a national environmental non-profit based in Washington, D.C. The complaint finds Defenders guilty of wrongfully terminating staff member Erica Prather for her involvement in union activity. The ruling resolves one of several Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges filed against Defenders by their staff union, Defenders United, represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), Local 2. “We are thrilled that the NLRB ruled in Erica’s favor,” said Kathleen Callaghy, a member of Defenders United’s bargaining committee. “But it’s really sad that it came to this. It is bad enough that our leadership broke the law, but evidently they would rather have a permanent stain on the record of the organization we love than admit they unfairly terminated an employee for organizing to create better working conditions. This distortion of priorities highlights why it was so important for us to unionize in the first place.” Erica Prather – a founding member of the staff union – was suspended without warning from her position as National Outreach Representative on February 15, 2022, and terminated by February 18. The NLRB found Erica’s termination to be discriminatory based on her union activities, which are protected under section 8(a) subsections 1 and 3 of the National Labor Relations Act. Erica herself is overjoyed by the news. “I feel like justice has finally been served to an organization that has retaliated against many employees who have simply tried to make Defenders better. This is about me and it’s also about so many other people. We now have proof – they broke the law.” The NLRB notified both parties of their findings in August, after which Defenders’ leadership had the option to admit wrongdoing and either reinstate Erica or come to a settlement agreement that compensated her for lost wages and other harm. After two months of negotiations, Defenders instead opted to appeal the decision in court, triggering the formal complaint by the NLRB. A hearing is currently set for January 10, 2023, but Defenders could agree to a settlement at any point. “We had hoped Defenders’ executives would do the right thing and not take this process any further,” said Rian Howard of OPEIU, Local 2, who has represented Defenders United in bargaining since its certification last year. “Non-profit funding should be spent on the organization’s wildlife conservation mission, not on litigating the illegal termination of passionate, dedicated employees.” Defenders’ leadership is represented in bargaining by the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. More recently, they also retained Littler Mendelson P.C., a notoriously anti-union firm known for helping employers fight unionization at companies such as Apple, Starbucks, and McDonalds. Non-profit funding should be spent on the organization’s wildlife conservation mission, not on litigating the illegal termination of passionate, dedicated employees. To date, the NLRB has found merit in four ULP charges filed by Defenders United since 2021. Defenders’ leadership recently settled several other ULPs, including one concerning their refusal to provide employee data to Defenders United, which is vital to the union’s ability to make informed and equitable decisions for its members in contract negotiations. This includes salaries, benefits, pay rates and consultant reports that inform salary determinations, healthcare selections, performance records, and other information.
Providing such information to unions is standard practice. However, citing concerns about data protection and privacy, Defenders’ CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark refused to provide the data for the past year unless the union signed a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement, resulting in stalled negotiations. Such an agreement would give Defenders’ leadership the ability to restrict what information was provided. “In my 30 years of negotiating, I’ve never encountered a more hostile management team,” said OPEIU’s Sascha Eisner, who also represents the union in bargaining. “It’s a shame to see this attitude toward employees from a nonprofit such as Defenders. From Amazon? Maybe. From a progressive non-profit? Hard to believe.” In the recent settlement, Defenders’ leadership stated that it will provide the requested data without limitations. Defenders also agreed not to circumvent the union and attempt to deal directly with employees – the subject of another ULP – now that staff have union representation.
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