American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky announces plans to unionize
.jpeg "Under the regional banner, ACLU Southern Affiliates United, 11 staff members from the ACLU of Kentucky signed a joint letter of intent on Monday with ACLU chapters in Louisiana and Mississippi to unionize “in pursuit of our collective rights as workers.”")
Staff at the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky are moving to unionize, the state chapter announced Monday.
Under the regional banner, ACLU Southern Affiliates United, 11 staff members from the ACLU of Kentucky signed a joint letter of intent with ACLU chapters in Louisiana and Mississippi to unionize “in pursuit of our collective rights as workers,” calling it an “essential step towards the vision of the Southern Collective that we all work in service of.”
All three ACLU affiliates have organized with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild and are asking to be voluntarily recognized by their employers.
“There is power in the South,” they wrote. “The most powerful communities of the South are represented in our ranks: Black and Brown folks, women, queer folks, formerly incarcerated people, people who’ve experienced poverty, and others who know that a more perfect union is only possible if every impacted voice has a say in shaping it.”
“Our backgrounds may differ, but our struggle is shared,” they continued. “We are all workers. And through ACLU Southern Affiliates United, we assert our right to self-determination in the workplace and the collective bargaining power of a union.”
In 2021, the ACLU became one of the highest-profile non-profits to unionize, forming ACLU Staff United that represented offices in Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco and Raleigh, N.C. Those steering the union’s formation at the top named high turnover among minority staff members as a top priority to address, according to the Washington Post.
Jackie McGranahan, senior policy strategist at the ACLU of Kentucky, said in a statement that the move to unionize will help toward “ensuring we all have an equal seat at the table. This is our opportunity to live out our values, as ACLU of Kentucky. We are excited for the direction our affiliate is headed in, and we look forward to working with our full management staff on bargaining.”
Amber Duke, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After serving as communications manager and, more recently, interim executive director, Duke was permanently hired at the helm in late March.
The ACLU of Kentucky boasts more than 8,000 members statewide, and describes itself as “freedom’s watchdog, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people.”
In a case still winding its way through the court system, the group last summer sued the state to overturn a pair of laws banning and criminalizing abortion except in cases of medical emergencies, arguing the measures on unconstitutional.
More recently, with passage of Senate Bill 150 in March, which bans gender-affirming health care for transgender minors in Kentucky and regulates K-12 curriculum about gender and sexuality, the ACLU of Kentucky said it would sue once provisions of that law take effect.
“To the commonwealth: we will see you in court,” the organization said last month.
This story may be updated.
This story was originally published April 17, 2023 at 10:51 AM.
