In the Salt Lake City, Utah, office of International Rescue Committee (IRC), workers delivered a petition to management March 19 seeking voluntary recognition of their union. More than three fourths of their roughly 50-person workforce signed on to join Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 11.
The answer came March 31: Yes, once the signed union authorization cards are confirmed. Of IRC’s 29 United States offices, 10 have unionized with OPEIU since November 2023, most of them through voluntary employer recognition.
The IRC works to resettle refugees worldwide. IRC workers make sure refugees’ basic needs are met, and that they get legal help, health care, and job training.
Workers are seeking raises, manageable workloads, safe working conditions, and better systems if layoffs are needed. In April 2024, the IRC announced it was laying off 65 U.S. workers.
The Trump administration freeze on foreign aid is hitting the IRC, which has more than 17,000 staff around the world. In February, the IRC said it was furloughing and laying off thousands of employees worldwide, and making a 20% cut to leadership pay, like the $1.2 million salary collected by CEO David Miliband — a former member of the UK parliament and Labour Party cabinet minister.
None of the IRC’s Pacific Northwest offices — Seattle, Spokane, and Boise — have unionized.
Headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, Local 11’s jurisdiction includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Utah.
