Workers at the Obama Foundation and its recently opened presidential center are seeking union representation after reporting increased workloads, rising health insurance costs, reduced paid leave and a lack of employee participation in workplace decisions.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
CHICAGO — Employees of former President Barack Obama’s foundation and presidential center have launched an effort to unionize, citing concerns about compensation, reduced benefits and workplace conditions just four months after the $900 million presidential complex opened to the public.
The organizing campaign, announced Wednesday, Oct. 7, could bring union representation to more than 250 employees working at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, the Obama Foundation’s offices in Washington, D.C., and remote positions throughout the United States.
In an open letter signed by 68 employees, workers announced the formation of Obama Workers United and their intention to organize with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31.
The employees said they were seeking greater influence over decisions affecting their pay, health insurance, paid time off and working conditions, arguing that existing communication with foundation leadership had not adequately addressed their concerns.
According to a report published Wednesday by the Chicago Sun-Times, the organizing effort follows complaints about suspended promotions, expected increases in employee health care expenses and the absence of anticipated winter pay raises.
Workers also reported increasing responsibilities and high turnover, which they said had placed additional pressure on employees who remained with the organization.
The campaign comes as the foundation continues operating its newly opened presidential center in Chicago’s Jackson Park neighborhood while maintaining national programs associated with Obama’s post-presidential initiatives.
The organizing employees said their decision was motivated by a desire to improve conditions while continuing to support the foundation’s stated mission.
“We are the workers who spend our days fulfilling the vision and values of the Obama Foundation,” employees wrote in their open letter.
“We strongly believe in the mission to ‘inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world,’ and now we’d like to change ours.”
The letter describes workplace concerns that employees believe could be addressed through collective bargaining and formal representation.
Workers contend that leadership has not provided sufficiently detailed responses to questions about compensation, benefits and organizational decisions.
They also expressed concern that employees have departed the foundation at a substantial rate, creating additional workloads and reducing continuity within departments.
The letter states that foundation leadership has responded to some workplace concerns with “vague responses.”
Employees said the organization has experienced a “high turnover rate” and that workers “continue to leave, taking with them their institutional knowledge and expertise.”
AFSCME officials did not provide a verified total of employees who have left the organization since the presidential center opened in June.
The reported turnover therefore reflects workers’ concerns rather than a publicly established count of departures.
Nevertheless, organizers maintain that retaining experienced employees is important to the foundation’s ability to operate effectively and fulfill its public commitments.
The employees seeking representation hold a variety of positions across the foundation and presidential center.
They include workers who welcome museum visitors, check tickets, manage visitor services and help operate public exhibitions.
Other employees are responsible for exhibit development, programming, communications, marketing, fundraising and administrative operations.
The proposed bargaining unit would extend beyond Chicago to include eligible employees working in Washington and remotely across the country.
That scope reflects the foundation’s broader organizational structure, which combines the presidential center’s physical facilities with educational, leadership and community programs.
The unionization initiative remains in its early stages.
Workers are collecting union authorization cards from colleagues and seeking sufficient support to request voluntary recognition from foundation management.
Anders Lindall, director of public affairs for AFSCME Council 31, said organizing committee members are speaking with employees across departments to explain the effort and encourage participation.
“Generally everybody wants a voice,” Lindall told the Sun-Times.
“That extends to compensation and conditions in the workplace and more.”
Lindall said employees recently learned that they would not receive pay increases during the winter despite anticipated increases in health insurance expenses.
He also identified reduced paid time off and suspended promotions as issues motivating the campaign.
Those developments have created uncertainty for workers about their compensation and opportunities for professional advancement.
The union has not yet released a formal list of bargaining demands or proposed contract provisions.
Organizers said their immediate priority is establishing employee representation before developing specific proposals for negotiations.
Luke Gilday, a Washington-based Obama Foundation employee who signed the organizing letter, said workers want to participate in decisions affecting their financial security and daily responsibilities.
“What we’re hoping for, and really the reason why we’re forming our union, is just because we believe we should have a say in the decisions that are being made that impact all of our lives,” Gilday said.
He explained that employees have not had sufficient influence over changes to compensation and benefits, even though those decisions directly affect them.
“At the end of the day, we’re the ones who are facing those impacts, and we don’t even have a seat at the table,” Gilday said.
The organizing effort became public Wednesday morning when workers and union representatives gathered outside the Obama Presidential Center.
Beginning at approximately 7 a.m., they greeted colleagues arriving for work and distributed copies of the open letter.
Organizers also handed out buttons and stickers promoting Obama Workers United.
Some employees posed for photographs with union signs displaying the group’s name and logo.
The event marked the beginning of a campaign intended to build support among eligible employees across the organization.
The union’s official announcement confirmed that workers are collecting authorization cards to seek voluntary recognition from foundation leadership.
A union authorization card is a statement indicating that an employee supports representation by a particular labor organization.
Under federal labor law, workers may seek recognition when a majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit support union representation.
An employer can voluntarily recognize a union following an appropriate demonstration of majority support, or employees may pursue a representation election conducted under National Labor Relations Board procedures.
The Obama Workers United campaign is currently focused on gathering support rather than negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.
Gilday said organizers have not established a timeline for reaching a contract.
Such negotiations would begin after the union obtains recognition and the parties determine the scope of the bargaining unit.
The process could involve discussions concerning wages, health insurance, paid leave, promotion procedures, job security and methods for resolving workplace grievances.
The workers have also called on foundation leadership to avoid actions they believe could interfere with the organizing effort.
Their open letter urges management to recognize employees’ right to organize and not spend organizational resources on efforts designed to discourage union participation.
The workers specifically asked leadership not to devote funds to “anti-union messaging, anti-union lawyers, or anti-union meetings.”
The request reflects a concern frequently raised during workplace organizing campaigns about employers hiring outside consultants or attorneys to communicate opposition to union representation.
The Obama Foundation has not announced plans to oppose the organizing campaign.
Instead, foundation officials issued a statement affirming employees’ right to seek collective bargaining representation.
“We are deeply committed to the fundamental right of workers to organize and make their voices heard,” a foundation spokesperson told the Sun-Times and WBEZ.
“As members of our staff explore union representation, we approach this process with immense gratitude for their contributions, deep respect for unions, and a sincere commitment to working collaboratively with our partners in labor.”
The statement indicates that foundation leadership recognizes employees’ right to organize and intends to approach the process cooperatively.
However, it does not constitute formal recognition of Obama Workers United or establish that negotiations over a labor contract have begun.
Those steps remain dependent on the organizing process and subsequent decisions by employees and management.
The dispute has attracted attention partly because of Obama’s longstanding public support for organized labor.
During his presidency, Obama frequently promoted collective bargaining and argued that unions play an important role in improving wages and working conditions.
His administration supported policies intended to strengthen workplace protections and expand opportunities for employees to organize.
The former president also maintained relationships with major labor organizations, including AFSCME.
In a 2016 open letter addressed to American workers, Obama encouraged people to consider union membership as a means of improving their economic security.
“If I were looking for a good job that lets me build some security for my family, I’d join a union,” Obama wrote.
“If I saw a problem in my workplace, I’d organize my coworkers to do something about it.”
Employees quoted those remarks in their organizing announcement, presenting their decision as consistent with the principles associated with Obama’s political career.
The reference was intended to connect the workers’ efforts to the public positions taken by the former president whose legacy the foundation preserves.
Gilday said employees remain committed to the organization’s mission despite their concerns about management decisions.
“Mr. and Mrs. Obama’s legacy is one of hope,” he said.
“It’s one of fairness, and it’s one of transparency … by forming our union, all we’re doing is living out that legacy.”
The remarks illustrate how workers are framing their campaign as an effort to strengthen the organization rather than challenge its broader purpose.
The foundation’s public programs focus on leadership development, civic participation, community engagement and initiatives associated with Barack and Michelle Obama’s work.
Its new presidential center is intended to serve as both a visitor destination and a location for educational and community activities.
The 19.3-acre campus opened in June 2026 at 6001 S. Stony Island Ave. in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side.
The complex includes a museum devoted to Obama’s presidency, public gathering spaces, exhibits and facilities designed to host community events.
Its development was a major undertaking involving years of planning, construction and fundraising.
The center’s reported cost reached approximately $900 million, reflecting substantial spending on construction, facilities and associated development.
The project has also faced public scrutiny involving its budget, construction expenses and the treatment of businesses participating in the work.
Some subcontractors have complained about delayed or unpaid invoices connected to the project.
Those disputes are separate from the employees’ unionization effort, and the organizing letter does not establish a direct connection between subcontractor payment complaints and the workplace conditions cited by foundation staff.
However, the issues have contributed to broader public attention surrounding the center’s finances and operations.
The foundation has also faced questions about changes in fundraising and revenue as the presidential center transitioned from construction toward ongoing operations.
According to financial information discussed in recent reporting, foundation revenue declined approximately 25% between 2024 and 2025.
That change has raised questions about the organization’s financial outlook, although a decline in annual revenue does not independently establish financial distress.
Nonprofit revenue can fluctuate substantially depending on major donations, fundraising campaigns and the timing of large capital projects.
The foundation has not publicly attributed the employee benefit changes identified by organizers to a particular financial problem.
Nor have the employees established that construction expenses or fundraising changes directly caused the reductions in benefits or suspension of promotions.
The workers’ concerns instead focus on the consequences of management decisions for staff members and their ability to participate in those decisions.
AFSCME Council 31 has organized employees across numerous public-sector and nonprofit workplaces in Illinois.
The union represents workers in state and local government, health care, social services, education and cultural institutions.
Its participation in the Obama Foundation campaign follows a broader organizing movement among employees of museums, libraries and other cultural organizations.
In Chicago, workers at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Field Museum have organized through AFSCME affiliates.
Those efforts have focused on wages, benefits, workplace safety, staffing and employee participation in organizational decisions.
According to AFSCME’s national announcement published Thursday, nearly 3,000 workers at Chicago-area cultural institutions have formed unions through affiliated organizing campaigns since 2021.
The union reports that workers at several institutions have subsequently negotiated their first collective bargaining agreements.
Those contracts have included provisions addressing compensation, benefits and workplace procedures.
AFSCME has used its Cultural Workers United campaign to expand organizing among museum and cultural employees nationwide.
The national union says more than 50,000 workers in libraries, museums, zoos and similar institutions have obtained union representation through the broader organizing movement.
The Obama Foundation campaign would add another prominent organization to that effort if employees secure recognition.
Roberta Lynch, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said the foundation’s staff members are essential to the presidential center’s operations and should have a voice in determining workplace conditions.
“These employees are the heart of the Obama Foundation,” Lynch said.
“Every day they do the work that makes the new Presidential Center such a remarkable addition to our city.”
She said union representation could provide employees with a formal role in shaping the organization’s future.
“Together in our union, they can ensure that the Foundation and Presidential Center are every bit as good a place to work as the Center is to visit.”
The union’s public statements emphasize workplace stability and the retention of experienced employees.
For organizations operating museums and educational institutions, employee turnover can create operational challenges because staff members develop specialized knowledge about exhibits, visitor services, programming and administrative systems.
Replacing experienced personnel can require additional recruitment and training expenses.
However, the Obama Foundation has not released detailed turnover figures establishing how its employee retention compares with similar organizations.
The extent of the problem described by workers therefore remains difficult to assess independently.
The same limitation applies to compensation and benefit changes.
Organizers have identified expected increases in health care costs, reduced paid time off and suspended promotions, but the foundation has not publicly released a comprehensive breakdown of those changes or explained the reasoning behind each decision.
Specific wage demands and proposed benefit improvements will likely become clearer if the union is recognized and collective bargaining begins.
For now, employees are seeking a mechanism through which they can participate in discussions before significant workplace changes are implemented.
The timing of the campaign is notable because it follows the presidential center’s public opening by only a few months.
The transition from preparing a major facility for visitors to operating it on a continuing basis can involve changes in staffing, scheduling and organizational responsibilities.
Employees say those changes have contributed to heavier workloads and dissatisfaction with management’s response.
The union campaign indicates that at least 68 workers were prepared to publicly support organizing at the time the open letter was distributed.
That number does not necessarily represent the full extent of union support.
Organizers are continuing to collect authorization cards and have not announced a final count.
Similarly, the figure of more than 250 potential workers refers to the proposed scope of the organizing effort, not the number already represented by a certified union.
The distinction matters because Obama Workers United has not yet completed the steps necessary to become the recognized bargaining representative for those employees.
AFSCME officials have expressed optimism that the foundation will cooperate with the process.
Lindall said the organization’s public support for unions creates an expectation that management will not oppose workers’ efforts.
He said AFSCME “just can’t imagine that there would be any type of resistance or interference” from the foundation.
“That’s what we would expect, that’s what we hope for, and we will see,” Lindall said.
The foundation’s statement suggests a willingness to engage constructively, but the next steps will determine whether management agrees to voluntary recognition or whether employees pursue another representation procedure.
Once recognized, a union would typically begin negotiating a first contract with management.
Those negotiations could address pay schedules, health insurance contributions, leave policies, opportunities for advancement and formal channels for raising workplace concerns.
The time required to reach an agreement can vary, and no contract terms have been established.
The organizing campaign also raises questions about how the foundation will balance employee demands with its financial and operational priorities.
Nonprofit organizations must manage revenue, program expenses and staffing obligations while fulfilling their stated missions.
Employees, meanwhile, have an interest in predictable compensation, benefits and working conditions.
Collective bargaining provides a formal process for addressing those issues, although the outcome depends on negotiations between the parties.
The Obama Foundation has publicly committed to respecting workers’ right to organize, while employees have emphasized their continued support for the organization’s mission.
Those positions establish a basis for discussions but do not resolve the concerns that prompted the campaign.
As of Thursday, the effort remains focused on securing enough employee support to obtain formal union recognition.
The workers have not announced plans for a strike or work stoppage.
Their immediate objective is to establish Obama Workers United as a bargaining representative for eligible foundation and presidential center employees.
The result will determine whether workers gain a formal collective bargaining role in an institution closely associated with a former president who has repeatedly advocated for union membership.
For employees, the campaign is centered on compensation, benefits, staffing and participation in decisions affecting their work.
For the foundation, it presents an early labor relations challenge as the presidential center continues establishing its operations following its June opening.
Both sides have publicly acknowledged the importance of workers’ rights, but negotiations over specific employment conditions have not yet begun.
The next stage of the campaign will depend on the collection of authorization cards, the foundation’s response to a request for recognition and the ability of the parties to establish a collective bargaining process.
Original article
Comments