NELP Staff Association
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NELP Staff Association
@nelpstaffunion.bsky.social
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We are the National Employment Law Project (NELP) Staff Association: A union of the workers doing the communications, policy analysis, development, legal advocacy, research, and operations work that makes NELP function. A unit of UAW Local 2320, NOLSW.
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NELP Staff Association @nelpstaffunion.bsky.social · 1d
Read the NELP Staff Association's statement calling for management to live up to our organization's values.
NELP Expected to Lay Off Roughly 60% of Staff Staff union calls on management to live up to NELP’s values and provide humane layoff packages Washington, D.C. – The National Employment Law Project (NELP), the country’s leading workers’ rights policy advocacy nonprofit, is expected to lay off an estimated 60% of staff 1 in the coming weeks through voluntary layoffs and potential involuntary layoffs. Staff were shocked by the scale of the anticipated personnel cuts at the 57-year-old organization, which has played a crucial role in improving labor standards for U.S. workers by raising minimum wages, increasing unemployment insurance benefits, broadening contracted workers’ access to rights, strengthening workplace safety laws, and ensuring that people with records have a fair chance at employment. The NELP Staff Association, a unit of NOLSW/UAW Local 2320, is going public to seek support in its layoff negotiations and ongoing labor dispute with management. The union calls on NELP management to work together to ensure a fair, orderly, worker-centered process to address the funding shortfall. It seeks clarity and transparency regarding the scope, criteria, and timing of the layoffs, as well as meaningful input on the transition packages being offered. The union continues to negotiate with management for substantive improvements in the voluntary layoff and potential involuntary layoff terms, including extended COBRA health care coverage. The union calls on management to act on the organization’s values and choose to take care of departing staff who have given so much to the organization. Budget deficits & expansion plans NELP has been running sizable budget deficits for several years. Although the financial reports do not count multi-year grants as revenue in the years they were allocated to be spent, the yearly gaps between expenses and revenue reveal the organization’s funding shortfall.2 NELP’s 2024 audited financials showed $6.2 million in revenue and $13.1 million in expenses; 2023 audited financials showed $11.3 million in revenue and $15.4 million in expenses; and 2022 audited financials showed $8.2 million in revenue and $17.2 million in expenses. NELP executive leadership had anticipated receiving a large grant from a major institutional funder that would have helped to reduce the deficit and pay for a costly “scale-up” expansion plan launched in June 2025. Leadership included the not-yet-approved grant in its financial planning assumptions and began hiring for many new regional-campaign and middle-management positions in the summer and fall of 2025. But in January 2026, they learned the grant was not approved, precipitating the current crisis and imminent mass voluntary and potential involuntary layoffs. By management’s own admission,3 there was no contingency plan in the event that the grant did not come through. Staff are stunned that the failure to secure a single grant could destabilize the organization to this degree and put its future in jeopardy. Calling for shared sacrifice Management has declined to accept any responsibility for this crisis or to share in its consequences. Senior management have thus far refused to commit to any reductions to their salaries, which are as high as $350,000 – nearly five times the lowest-paid NELP staff, and significantly higher than the median nonprofit executive compensation. Cuts to their disproportionately higher salaries could help fund adequate and humane layoff packages for staff who have given years of service to the organization and now face potential extended joblessness and loss of income and health insurance. This layoff process has real, life-altering consequences for NELP’s workers and their families, many of whom have dedicated a large portion of their careers to this organization. Many of NELP’s workers are over 50 and have worked there for more than a decade, and they are understandably anxious given the well-documented challenges that older workers face in securing comparable employment in the current labor market. Union busting & failure to act on the organization’s mission Staff morale and trust were already running low following an aggressive organizational restructuring in the summer of 2025, which the union concluded was unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act. Management sought to remove seven staff members from the bargaining unit by reclassifying them as non-union managers – without bargaining with the union as required by law. When the union protested this clear-cut violation of the contract, management unilaterally eliminated the seven union positions and instructed affected staff to apply for newly created non-union positions if they wished to continue working at NELP. If they chose not to apply, they would effectively be laid off, prompting four of the seven individuals to apply to their own jobs under duress. Management has insisted that this restructuring was necessary to support the organization’s growth. Six of the seven roles were held by women over 40, five of whom were women of color in leadership positions. These actions had an immediate chilling effect across the organization and led to the departures of several highly respected leaders. The staff union filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging unlawful unilateral changes, bargaining unit erosion, direct dealing, and retaliation. The case is pending. Management has failed to implement reasonable worker protections suggested by the union in response to these circumstances. Throughout this dispute, the union has been bargaining for a successor contract to its prior collective bargaining agreement, which expired on December 31, 2025. The union had hoped to resolve the central issue of the ULP at the bargaining table by securing stronger language to protect its members. The union suggested language to define supervisors according to the PRO Act – federal legislation NELP has publicly advocated for – as well as language to define bargaining unit work. It also recommended language that would trigger bargaining in case of restructuring. These proposals were resisted by management, who to date have not provided meaningful counters relating to unit erosion. On January 12, 2026, members of the NELP Staff Association staged a walkout to protest management’s rigid bargaining posture and demand a fair contract. An uncertain future For nearly 60 years, NELP has played a critical role in the workers’ rights movement. But the organization may be unrecognizable at the end of this process. Deep staffing cuts threaten NELP’s ability to continue supporting the movement with the legal, research, policy, and communications expertise that partners, legislators, journalists, and workers rely on. NELP staff will bear the brunt of this financial crisis with the loss of their livelihoods. The union has urged leadership to approve transition packages closer in line with organizational values. NELP, an organization that advocates for “expansive rights” for all workers, must do more than the bare minimum for departing staff who have given the organization so much. Although the union has expressed its willingness to work with management to address the deficit, the union maintains that NELP management has not consistently engaged in good-faith bargaining around
nelpstaffunion.bsky.social
“The National Employment Law Project is at odds with its staff amid a budget crisis that threatens to mute a leading voice for workers' rights.”

Read the full piece at @politico.com: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
POLITICO Pro: A leading workers' rights advocate is in turmoil
The National Employment Law Project is weighing cutbacks that some employees say could put its future in jeopardy.
subscriber.politicopro.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:33 PM
nelpstaffunion.bsky.social
Read the NELP Staff Association's statement calling for management to live up to our organization's values.
NELP Expected to Lay Off Roughly 60% of Staff Staff union calls on management to live up to NELP’s values and provide humane layoff packages Washington, D.C. – The National Employment Law Project (NELP), the country’s leading workers’ rights policy advocacy nonprofit, is expected to lay off an estimated 60% of staff 1 in the coming weeks through voluntary layoffs and potential involuntary layoffs. Staff were shocked by the scale of the anticipated personnel cuts at the 57-year-old organization, which has played a crucial role in improving labor standards for U.S. workers by raising minimum wages, increasing unemployment insurance benefits, broadening contracted workers’ access to rights, strengthening workplace safety laws, and ensuring that people with records have a fair chance at employment. The NELP Staff Association, a unit of NOLSW/UAW Local 2320, is going public to seek support in its layoff negotiations and ongoing labor dispute with management. The union calls on NELP management to work together to ensure a fair, orderly, worker-centered process to address the funding shortfall. It seeks clarity and transparency regarding the scope, criteria, and timing of the layoffs, as well as meaningful input on the transition packages being offered. The union continues to negotiate with management for substantive improvements in the voluntary layoff and potential involuntary layoff terms, including extended COBRA health care coverage. The union calls on management to act on the organization’s values and choose to take care of departing staff who have given so much to the organization. Budget deficits & expansion plans NELP has been running sizable budget deficits for several years. Although the financial reports do not count multi-year grants as revenue in the years they were allocated to be spent, the yearly gaps between expenses and revenue reveal the organization’s funding shortfall.2 NELP’s 2024 audited financials showed $6.2 million in revenue and $13.1 million in expenses; 2023 audited financials showed $11.3 million in revenue and $15.4 million in expenses; and 2022 audited financials showed $8.2 million in revenue and $17.2 million in expenses. NELP executive leadership had anticipated receiving a large grant from a major institutional funder that would have helped to reduce the deficit and pay for a costly “scale-up” expansion plan launched in June 2025. Leadership included the not-yet-approved grant in its financial planning assumptions and began hiring for many new regional-campaign and middle-management positions in the summer and fall of 2025. But in January 2026, they learned the grant was not approved, precipitating the current crisis and imminent mass voluntary and potential involuntary layoffs. By management’s own admission,3 there was no contingency plan in the event that the grant did not come through. Staff are stunned that the failure to secure a single grant could destabilize the organization to this degree and put its future in jeopardy. Calling for shared sacrifice Management has declined to accept any responsibility for this crisis or to share in its consequences. Senior management have thus far refused to commit to any reductions to their salaries, which are as high as $350,000 – nearly five times the lowest-paid NELP staff, and significantly higher than the median nonprofit executive compensation. Cuts to their disproportionately higher salaries could help fund adequate and humane layoff packages for staff who have given years of service to the organization and now face potential extended joblessness and loss of income and health insurance. This layoff process has real, life-altering consequences for NELP’s workers and their families, many of whom have dedicated a large portion of their careers to this organization. Many of NELP’s workers are over 50 and have worked there for more than a decade, and they are understandably anxious given the well-documented challenges that older workers face in securing comparable employment in the current labor market. Union busting & failure to act on the organization’s mission Staff morale and trust were already running low following an aggressive organizational restructuring in the summer of 2025, which the union concluded was unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act. Management sought to remove seven staff members from the bargaining unit by reclassifying them as non-union managers – without bargaining with the union as required by law. When the union protested this clear-cut violation of the contract, management unilaterally eliminated the seven union positions and instructed affected staff to apply for newly created non-union positions if they wished to continue working at NELP. If they chose not to apply, they would effectively be laid off, prompting four of the seven individuals to apply to their own jobs under duress. Management has insisted that this restructuring was necessary to support the organization’s growth. Six of the seven roles were held by women over 40, five of whom were women of color in leadership positions. These actions had an immediate chilling effect across the organization and led to the departures of several highly respected leaders. The staff union filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging unlawful unilateral changes, bargaining unit erosion, direct dealing, and retaliation. The case is pending. Management has failed to implement reasonable worker protections suggested by the union in response to these circumstances. Throughout this dispute, the union has been bargaining for a successor contract to its prior collective bargaining agreement, which expired on December 31, 2025. The union had hoped to resolve the central issue of the ULP at the bargaining table by securing stronger language to protect its members. The union suggested language to define supervisors according to the PRO Act – federal legislation NELP has publicly advocated for – as well as language to define bargaining unit work. It also recommended language that would trigger bargaining in case of restructuring. These proposals were resisted by management, who to date have not provided meaningful counters relating to unit erosion. On January 12, 2026, members of the NELP Staff Association staged a walkout to protest management’s rigid bargaining posture and demand a fair contract. An uncertain future For nearly 60 years, NELP has played a critical role in the workers’ rights movement. But the organization may be unrecognizable at the end of this process. Deep staffing cuts threaten NELP’s ability to continue supporting the movement with the legal, research, policy, and communications expertise that partners, legislators, journalists, and workers rely on. NELP staff will bear the brunt of this financial crisis with the loss of their livelihoods. The union has urged leadership to approve transition packages closer in line with organizational values. NELP, an organization that advocates for “expansive rights” for all workers, must do more than the bare minimum for departing staff who have given the organization so much. Although the union has expressed its willingness to work with management to address the deficit, the union maintains that NELP management has not consistently engaged in good-faith bargaining around
February 13, 2026 at 8:36 PM
nelpstaffunion.bsky.social
🧵
The NELP Staff Association believes strongly in the National Employment Law Project’s mission to build a just and inclusive economy where all workers have expansive rights and thrive in good jobs. But now NELP is in danger.
February 13, 2026 at 7:13 PM
nelpstaffunion.bsky.social
Workers at NELP first formed a union in 1979. Since 1992, we have been part of the United Auto Workers Local 2320, National Organization of Legal Services Workers.
February 3, 2026 at 1:26 PM
nelpstaffunion.bsky.social
Meet the National Employment Law Project (NELP) Staff Association: A union of the workers doing the communications, policy analysis, development, legal advocacy, research, and operations work that makes NELP function.
February 3, 2026 at 1:25 PM