Wikimedia Foundation Workers Overwhelmingly Vote to Form Union with CWA

San Francisco, California - In a significant victory for the Wikimedia Foundation workforce, U.S.-based employees have overwhelmingly voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9415. This decision represents a crucial step in the global Wiki Workers United campaign, aimed at fostering collective bargaining through legal channels in various countries.

The U.S. workers' organizing process has been ongoing for over a decade, with Bryan Davis, a member of the WWU organizing committee and WWU-US/CWA, highlighting the importance of this achievement for their ten-year journey. The union recognition comes after U.S. workers demanded it, with a supermajority signing authorization cards.

When management resisted respecting workers' rights to choose union representation, the team persisted through an NLRB-oversight union election. Decovan Rhem, president of CWA Local 9415, emphasized that this win demonstrates the strength of international solidarity. The victory was made possible by over 2,000 volunteer editors who signed petitions supporting the Wikimedia Foundation workers, making it the most supported petition on English-language Wikipedia.

Shushugah, a volunteer editor since 2015, expressed pride in being part of this celebration. The WWU Organizing Committee praised this massive show of solidarity and acknowledged the victory as a well-deserved one for Wikimedia U.S. staff and for those advocating for a free, democratic internet.