Why Unions and Works Councils Are Important for the Wikimedia Movement
Employees of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) want to organize in a union.
Several publications reported on this in the past months.
The reason: The WMF has not recognized the union representatives yet.
This is being criticized both from within the volunteer community and by WMF employees.
At Wikimedia Germany, we have experienced the importance of employee interest representation for the past twelve years.
This blog post explains how our works council operates and is embedded into our daily work.
What happened?
In July 2026, the Wiki Workers United U.S., a group of Wikimedia Foundation employees who want to unionize, announced:
a majority of employees in the USA who are entitled to vote has expressed their interest in being represented by the Communications Workers of America
[en] union.
In early August, the Wikimedia Foundation declared that they would not recognize CWA as the union representative.
The reasons cited were feedback from among the employees and misunderstandings about what a union can do.
This step provoked criticism. The WMF’s reasons are criticized as being pretextual and part of delay tactics intended to prevent the employees from organizing in a union.
To organize another vote among WMF employees, the CWA called on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
This federal agency is meant to supervise the rightful organization of employees in the private sector.
The counting of the new vote is scheduled for 3 September.
As part of their registration with the NLRB, the Wikimedia Foundation also specified their legal counsel:
the Littler Mendelson law firm,
according to a media report.
The source for this is Wikipedia itself and an official document linked there.
However, the document, or rather the site of the NLRB, are not reachable since 11 August.
Why the works council is important for Wikimedia Germany
This choice of law firm has raised criticism of the Wikimedia Foundation’s behavior.
The reason: Littler Mendelson is known for so-called Union Busting.
In the past, the firm advised companies – including Starbucks, Amazon and Apple – how they can prevent their employees from organizing in a union.
From Wikimedia Germany’s perspective, it is therefore understandable that the WMF’s decision to hire the Littler Mendelson law firm as their representative in the unionization process has caused criticism and irritation.
Wikipedia stands for cooperation and values such as participation, transparency and finding the best possible consensus.
These central traits of Wikipedia and its sister projects are also their greatest strength.
They create trust and acceptance.
It is these very values which also find their expression in the negotiation of employer and employee interests.
Heine does not deny that negotiations between the employer and employee representatives can be strenuous.
But the significant benefit of a works council is unmistakeable.
The works council has its own impetus and can contribute to the detection of potential conflicts.
Especially important for us as an employer: it supports us in learning what keeps people at Wikimedia Germany and where we can improve further.
The Wikimedia Germany works council dates back to 2014.
Merle von Wittich is one of the seven total works council members since 2022.
She has been working for Wikimedia Germany since 2011 and,
as part of the Community und Engagement team,
looks after formats which support Wikipedians in recruiting new volunteers.
Her experience with the development of supportive measures and her constructive spirit motivated her to also stand for the interests of Wikimedia Germany’s employees.
In Germany, works council work is the best way to apply negotiation processes within a company.
This allows foundational principles of Wikipedia such as cooperation and participation to become living practice within the staff body and the employer-employee relation.
Merle von Wittich, works council member, Wikimedia Germany
Merle’s favorite subject is health.
It’s important to her to develop offers which support both psychological and physical health together with the employer.
She initiated the Health Day for all colleagues through the works council and implemented it together with the HR and Finance teams.
The same is true for an analysis of working conditions at Wikimedia Germany,
with the goal to recognize stress factors at the workplace and thus protect employees’ health.
Lucas Werkmeister, like Merle von Wittich, hails from a Wikimedia Germany department which supports the volunteer community.
He works as a software developer on the largest free and open knowledge base, Wikidata.
He has been at Wikimedia Germany since 2017 and first stood for the works council during the 2018 election.
For me, the works council is the place which is best suited to get a complete and realistic picture of the employees’ situation –
and, based on that, to support them to improve their working environment.
Lucas Werkmeister, works council member, Wikimedia Germany
Lucas can think of many works agreements which have achieved just that and are appreciated by the colleagues.
This includes the subjects of mobile and hybrid working, Health Integration Management
[BEM]
as well as the salary system.
Although the works council can only negotiate the remuneration principles, but not the salary amount.
Wikimedia Germany does not yet have a union which could negotiate a collective labor agreement.
Do the two see conflicts or issues when negotiating conflicts?
According to Merle von Wittich, there are surely occasional tensions, but these are productive.
She experiences a trusting collaboration – both within the works council and when talking to the employer.
She and Lucas Werkmeister agree: though we may not always agree, we can still collaborate well on different topics.
In the end, the goal is to maintain an exchange of information and develop solutions for employees.
What happens next in the USA
The ballots for the repeat vote were already sent to eligible Wikimedia staff in the USA on 11 August.
On 3 September 2026 they will be counted in the regional NLRB office in San Francisco.
If this repeated vote also results in a majority of employees expressing their desire for union representation,
we expect that the Wikimedia Foundation will enter constructive and fair negotiations with the union.
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