A look behind the rise of unionization efforts at Minnesota nonprofits

CATHY WURZER: You know, most people who work at a nonprofit will tell you they're there because they support the mission and there's a purpose to what they do that makes some kind of tangible change in the world. But just as the pandemic and social justice uprising three years ago shook up the private sector, causing a so-called great resignation and pushing workers to unionize over working conditions, pay, and culture issues, there's been a sea change within the nonprofit sphere too. In the Twin Cities, a growing number of nonprofits have recently organized unions, including Min 350, the Minnesota Historical Society, Planned Parenthood, and Jewish Community Action to name just a few.

We should mention that workers at Minnesota Public Radio News unionized back in 2016. And the reasons are complex. Workers have clashed with leadership over working conditions and culture issues. Nonoko Sato is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. That is the largest state association for nonprofits in the country. Nonoko, welcome.

NONOKO SATO: Thank you for having me, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, I'm glad you can take the time. We appreciate it. Thank you.

NONOKO SATO: Thank you.

CATHY WURZER: So you know that a lot of workers have left nonprofits because of burnout. There's this new National Association of Nonprofit survey, I know you've seen it, that finds that four out of five Minnesota nonprofits are struggling with job vacancies. What do you think is going on in the state of Minnesota?

NONOKO SATO: Yeah. I mean, I think this is not just unique to the nonprofit sector. It's certainly happening in other sectors as well. Loss of workers and retaining and attracting talent continues to be pervasive across all three sectors. But I think in particular for the nonprofit sector, we are a sector that continues to rely on the generosity of our workers to meet our missions.

We have historically underpaid our staff. We are unable to offer benefits that our workers really need. And so when you are faced with this day to day challenges of trying to meet the needs of community and you're unable to actually make rent or to pay your mortgage or to even access health care, certainly it is a cause to potentially think about leaving the sector or to pursue other types of profession.

CATHY WURZER: What's the answer? Because there is a scarcity mentality, even a scarcity reality to contend with nonprofits, right? And if you unionize, does that improve the financial picture, at least for the workers? But do we know what happens between unionized and non-union nonprofits?

NONOKO SATO: Yeah. I think certainly. I mean, I think there's a-- I mean, each organization and the reasons why they unionize might be different.

And I can't certainly speak for the workers who choose to unionize, but there are good reasons behind that. I think for, of course, better pay and better working conditions are certainly one factor. But they are a new group of younger folks who are interested in having more say in the decisions that the organization is making, shared power, more transparency and accountability.

So I think those kinds of discussions within the organizations are good. But ultimately, it is coming down to financials. And I think the leaders are struggling in trying to meet the needs of the workers. I mean, I certainly have not met any executive director who was explicit in saying I don't want to pay our workers more.

In fact, so many of our executive directors want to do that because they understand that that's a necessity in order for them to keep the talent that they need. But at the same time, they are also having to make these decisions about sustainability because these organizations have to be here in the long term, unfortunately, because of what because the communities are continuing to demand for services. But at the same time, nationally and also in Minnesota revenue sources are declining, both from individuals to corporations to foundations, they are becoming stagnant or declining altogether. And so I think that there is a really difficult challenge right now for the nonprofit sector to grapple with.

CATHY WURZER: Gosh, how are you approaching these issues at your organization? And what guidance are you providing to other nonprofits in Minnesota?

NONOKO SATO: Yeah. I mean, so we also have a union as well that formed in 2021. So we went through about a year and a half of negotiations as well. I think it was a lot of learning. It isn't-- unionization in the nonprofit sector I think is just not the same as unionizing with larger corporations, for example.

Executive directors are also employees of the organization. And we also want better working conditions and good benefits and better pay as well, just as much as the workers do. And so I think to me like it is really around thinking through how decisions are being made.

What are the areas where workers who do have firsthand experience in working directly with the communities have a say in like what the direction of the organization can go? And opening up those decision-making portals to updating policies with more of an inclusive process. I think that there are a lot of organizations trying new ideas and new things to try to retain the workers that they need.

CATHY WURZER: And what are you running into? That's interesting in terms of new ideas for retention. What seems to be the more the novel ideas you've run into that seem to be working?

NONOKO SATO: I don't know if they're working necessarily. But we have to be thinking about more time off, for example, perhaps. Like I think that our first instinct is to go towards solutions, potential solutions that may not necessarily cost more. But the fact of the matter is no matter how you look at it, the cost of running a business continues to rise.

It's not just about pay. It's not just about pay and benefits, but it's also about the equipment that you need to run your business, to have the right type of resources to be able to build homes for people who do not have homes. I think like all those things are coming into play. So it is really about having conversations perhaps and even lifting up the needs of these nonprofit sectors, which are instrumental and critical to our society functioning.

We are strong partners with the government. The government needs us. Our communities certainly needs us. But I do think these creative solutions that I think nonprofits have been used to aren't necessarily working. It is ultimately coming down to the fact that we have to be able to raise the revenue and then to be able to sustain that work in the long term.

CATHY WURZER: You mentioned some organizations are also dealing with just culture change too, right? You have nonprofits run by executive directors and teams. But you have boards of directors who help make the decisions. And sometimes these are pretty powerful business leaders in the community. Where does a board fit in? Or even perhaps be a hindrance when it comes to significant culture change?

NONOKO SATO: Yeah. I mean, one of the things that-- so we do a survey. We have been doing these COVID-19 impact report surveys for the past three years or so. We just released our seventh one recently.

And one of the things that the leaders are looking for are more support from boards. And I think there is something to be said around the fact that boards who really understand what the community needs should be much more represented within the board itself. Because ultimately when leaders are trying to make decisions in terms of what should they be focused on? What are the programs that they might even need to cut? Or even like the most difficult decision I think for many nonprofit leaders is around sunsetting.

Like do they have to close the doors because they just no longer can get access to funding? I think boards certainly have a role to play in both supporting the executive director being their thought partner to be able to bring the resources. Not just money, but ideas and their time and their expertise, their lived experiences. I think all those things are extremely valuable.

And so I think what we're seeing is now a shift for boards to no longer just be about one type of, let's say, just donors for example. I think there is a desire and a growth for boards to be a little bit more diverse to represent the communities being served. And I think like those are the kind of questions that's I think really good conversations that's happening in our sector to really help make sure that the nonprofits who are doing critical work in their communities continue to be there five years from now, 10 years from now.

CATHY WURZER: Interesting conversation here. Nonoko, thank you so much.

NONOKO SATO: Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it.

CATHY WURZER: Nonoko Sato is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.