Wikimedia Foundation Workers Overwhelmingly Vote to Form Union with CWA

Wikimedia Foundation Workers Overwhelmingly Vote to Form Union with CWA

San Francisco, Calif. – U.S.-based workers at Wikimedia Foundation—the nonprofit organization that hosts Wikipedia and sister projects—have won their union election, voting overwhelmingly to join Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9415. The victory marks an important milestone in a global movement among Wikimedia Foundation workers to establish collective bargaining through the legal frameworks available in their respective countries.

U.S.-based workers began organizing as a part of the broader Wiki Workers United global union campaign of Wikimedia Foundation workers committed to strengthening worker voice, transparency, equity, and shared stewardship.

“The recognition of our union’s first government-sanctioned bargaining unit is a huge milestone in our over ten-year journey to educate, agitate, and organize coworkers,” said Bryan Davis, a WWU organizing committee and WWU-US/CWA member. “We continue our petition for recognition in the U.K. and hope to see more jurisdiction-specific units call for voluntary recognition in the coming weeks and months. Solidarity will continue to drive our discussions, planning, and actions as we begin working on our collective goals for contract bargaining to support all WMF workers regardless of legal jurisdiction, job duty, or hours of employment.”

In July, U.S.-based workers demanded union recognition after a supermajority of them signed union authorization cards. When management refused to uphold the organization’s commitment to respect the rights of workers to freely choose union representation, workers persevered through a union election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). 81% of eligible voters cast ballots, and 92% of voters supported unionization.

“Today’s victory is a demonstration of the power of international solidarity,” said Decovan Rhem, President of CWA Local 9415. “WWU-US/CWA members organized across their workplaces and across the world, building support among coworkers internationally and among an incredible community of volunteers and wiki editors. Now, we will take the power our members have built to the bargaining table to negotiate a strong contract that gives Wikimedia workers the voice they have long deserved.”

WWU extends its sincere gratitude to the Wikimedia volunteer community. Over 2,000 volunteers and community members who have collectively made more than 15 million edits have publicly signed petitions supporting Wikimedia Foundation workers and affirming the importance of giving workers a meaningful voice in shaping the future of the movement. This petition is the most supported petition in history on the English-language Wikipedia. The WWU Organizing Committee is deeply appreciative of this extraordinary demonstration of solidarity.

“Wikipedia has often been described as the ‘last good place on the Internet,’ staying free and open at a time when so many other sites decay from corporate greed. Often credited to its volunteer community alone, this couldn’t have happened without the tireless work of Wikimedia Foundation staff. Today, their US branch celebrates a well-deserved victory, and I am proud to be among the thousands of volunteer editors supporting the largest cause across the history of the English Wikipedia community. It is our responsibility to hold the Foundation behind Wikipedia’s continued existence responsible to embody the same values we fight for, namely, a fair and democratic internet,” said Chaotic Enby, a Wikipedia editor since 2021 with over 52,000 global edits.

“Today’s election result is a well-deserved victory not only for Wikimedia U.S. staff, but for everyone who believes in a free, democratic internet. I am proud to be among the 2,000 volunteer editors celebrating this achievement today,” said Shushugah, a volunteer Wikipedia editor since 2015 with over 14,000 global edits.

Members of WWU-UK, the UK branch of WWU, represented by the United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW), a national branch of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), have also demanded union recognition.

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About CODE-CWA
The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) is a union movement of thousands of workers fighting every single day to build the voice and power necessary to ensure the future of the tech, games, and digital industries in the United States and Canada. CODE-CWA is a project of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represents hundreds of thousands of workers throughout tech, media, telecom, and other industries who stand together to fight for justice on the job and in our communities.

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For more information: https://wikiworkersunited.org

Media inquiries: info@wikiworkersunited.org, Sean Nesmith snesmith@cwa-union.org

• #WWU-US
• #recognition
• #press release