Uk Staff At The Foundation That Runs Wikipedia Seeks Union Recognition

UK-based unit astatine nan Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), nan nonprofit that supports Wikipedia, are pushing guardant pinch their unionization drive. On Wednesday, nan unit sent a missive to WMF guidance requesting nan statement voluntarily admit nan union.

“The WMF has undergone a play of important alteration successful caller months, escalating workers’ concerns complete transparency, trust, and nan organisation’s early direction,” a property release from nan Communication Workers Union reads. “The workers are longtime contributors and organisers, and are profoundly committed to nan Wikimedia movement.”

WMF unit are based astir nan world, and nan UK contingent is nan first to activity national recognition. Workers person been organizing for months nether nan Wiki Workers United umbrella, and nan UK has nan second-highest number of WMF labor aft nan US, nan property merchandise says.

The missive sent connected Wednesday comes aft weeks of tense relations astatine WMF and Wikipedia. In May, nan instauration announced it was disbanding a beloved team that worked intimately pinch Wikipedia contributors, nan service of editors, writers, and different volunteers who create and support nan encyclopedia. (Contributors are not labor of WMF, though immoderate person gone connected to activity for nan instauration successful a general capacity.)

The announcement of imaginable layoffs came arsenic a daze to many, and some volunteers and immoderate erstwhile WMF labor expressed interest complete nan early of Wikipedia. Some questioned whether nan move was related to WMF unit efforts to unionize their workplace. At nan time, WMF main of unit Nadee Gunasena denied that nan disbanding (and imaginable layoffs) were related to national activities, and told The Verge that nan statement “respect[s] nan authorities of each eligible unit to vote, and if nan mostly of eligible unit ballot successful favour of representation, we will proceed to discuss successful bully faith.”

In consequence to nan disbanding, volunteers rallied down Wiki Workers United: More than 1,100 contributors person signed a petition saying they would beryllium consenting to participate successful corporate action if nan national called for it. Collective action could mean volunteers mightiness moreover spell connected strike, refusing to edit and support Wikipedia isolated from for utmost cases.

The Wikimedia Foundation didn’t instantly respond to a petition for comment. The UK-based group of Wiki Workers United did not respond successful clip for publication.