Media Matters employees say their leaders betrayed them by failing to recognize their attempts to unionize.
SEIU Local 500, the Maryland union that claims to have obtained the necessary signatures to organize the liberal giant, released a statement from the Media Matters Organizing Committee on Monday about employee frustration.
"Many Media Matters employees feel betrayed by the unexpected and unexplained path our leadership has taken in response to our efforts to unionize. Our desire to organize should be not a controversial or surprising turn of events at a progressive organization like Media Matters for America," the statement says.
SEIU blasted the hypocrisy of MMFA, which has often lauded card check campaigns, while claiming that secret ballot elections disadvantage unions. Not only did MMFA maven David Brock hire elite management-side labor attorneys, the organization failed to even respond when SEIU informed them of the card check results.
"The actions of Media Matters executives have placed employees in the impossible position of continuing to produce content espousing pro-labor values for an employer who is challenging our right to unionize," the statement says. "Not only is management subjecting Media Matters employees to arduous NLRB procedures, the actions of their attorneys indicate Media Matters executives object so tenaciously to our union that they appear willing to prevent employees from ever having the opportunity to vote on the matter."
The organization’s resistance is all the more surprising because of the generous donations MMFA has received from unions, including the SEIU.
The SEIU donated $150,000 to the liberal attack group between 2009 and 2012. That was 20 percent of all donations the liberal attack group collected from major unions, including the National Education Association, AFL-CIO, and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Workers. The group took in $735,000 from those unions during the 4-year span.
Liberal pundits and labor watchdogs alike have criticized management’s actions. The union appears to be ramping up pressure on Brock and company.
"Media Matters employees often write in defense of organized labor, and our work has demonstrated the virtues of organizing through card-check and the perils of being forced through a protracted NLRB election process," the statement says. "It is fitting, then, that we’ve chosen to unionize and attempt to lead our own lives by the principles we regularly advocate for in our work."