Community Catalyst United - CCU

04/03/2026

Since our joint Labor Management proposal was not accepted following recent layoffs, we continue to experience high attrition. As Community Catalyst leadership continues to spend on new six-figure management positions and executive travel, CCU is concerned about the prioritization of our values.

03/30/2026

A message of gratitude from our members’ recent fundraiser. Thank YOU to our community for all your support.

We’re truly

02/20/2026

The last month has been really heavy at CCU. As our staff union has been collectively working to mitigate layoffs, one of our union siblings is also navigating multiple systemic barriers to their livelihood.

Every day, our members show up for communities navigating structural harm, advocating at national, state, and local levels for equitable policies. Like many other nonprofits in this field, our organization has intentionally engaged in efforts to bring people with lived experience and representative of communities disproportionately harmed from the systems we’re trying to change, into our work. When systems and policies fall short, the union is an opportunity to support people as whole people.

Through no fault of their own, our member is caught in bureaucratic delays impacting the immigration system, including DACA recipients. While we continue our work to change systems, we are supporting real immediate needs.

If you are able, please consider contributing.
If you cannot give, please consider sharing widely.
Every action helps build the kind of collective protection our systems refuse to provide.

02/18/2026

This last month has been incredibly heavy.

On Thursday, February 12th, our 18 members who had been placed on administrative leave over a month ago were officially laid off. Though CCU has tried to mitigate some of the harm that these layoffs have caused, we want to acknowledge that significant harm has already been done—jobs have been lost, and current staff remain confused and concerned about job security.

On Friday, February 13th, CCU submitted a proposal aimed at protecting union work and providing our members with a stronger safety net as they navigate the impact of these cuts on their livelihoods.

Amidst the pain, grief, and trauma of these current times, the way Community Catalyst has gone about this entire process has only made things exceptionally harder. Our colleagues deserve so much better. Each of our members brings unique skills, expertise, and experience, and their contributions are what make Community Catalyst’s work possible. Our current and former members’ contributions matter. And they will continue to matter long after today.

As we await management’s response, we urge Community Catalyst to accept our proposal.

We want to be clear: Accepting these recommendations will not undo the damage that has already been done. But it’s a starting point.

CCU will continue to center the dignity we deserve. We know that our members, and all workers, deserve conditions they need to thrive — within Community Catalyst and beyond.

We are always ✊

02/05/2026

Our members are real people, not just line items in a budget. CCU members are at risk of losing their jobs before the union has even finished negotiations to save them.

01/16/2026

On January 14th of this new year, half of our union members were contacted by a third-party HR vendor to inform them that they had been laid off. 18 Community Catalyst union employees, some of whom have been at this organization for more than 10 years, livelihoods impacted after years of dedication to this organization.

These union members were unexpectedly ripped from their every day work; without a chance to wrap up projects that they’d put effort and time into, pass on necessary knowledge to other colleagues to continue the work, and say goodbye to coworkers and external partners they’ve spent years connecting with and supporting.

The conditions we work under in our organizations are never separate from the political conditions we advocate within. Intensifying state violence, attacks on immigrant and q***r communities, and economic uncertainty all deeply affect both the content of our work and the conditions that we as workers live under. We remain steadfast in our hope for a world where everyone has what they need to be healthy, safe, and secure. We cannot and will not fight for policies that advance those conditions externally without also demanding that those conditions exist within our workplaces as well. 

CCU is committed to finding alternatives that honor the irreplaceable labor of our staff that centers equity, care, dignity, and the humanity of workers as people first. Currently, CCU reps are working to initiate a process for a joint committee of union members and managers to propose alternatives to layoffs.

02/14/2025

Happy Valentine’s Day, from CCU 💜

02/03/2025

On 12/10/24, Community Catalyst’s senior leadership notified CCU that they would need to conduct layoffs. That same day, 10 CCU members were notified via email that they would be laid off. Each of our members bring unique skills, expertise, and experience to their roles and their contributions are what make our organization’s work possible. This was a devastating cut that impacted the entire organization.

Laid off CCU members were placed on administrative leave while a committee of CCU leaders and Community Catalyst managers worked to save their jobs. This committee drafted a thoughtful proposal for senior leadership, finding savings to extend pay and health insurance coverage through the end of April. The committee proposed common sense solutions to right-size our organization’s budget, like: postponing events, consolidating travel, and using the talents of our staff rather than outside consultants.

After reviewing the proposal, senior leadership notified CCU that they would agree to provide an additional month of COBRA for laid off staff and would hire a consultant to provide job transition support. Senior leadership rejected the parts of the LMC proposal that would have extended all of our members’ jobs. In total, about 20% of Community Catalyst staff were laid off. In the aftermath, staff were given the opportunity to ask questions of senior leadership, but our members remain confused and concerned about our job security.

Amidst the pain, grief, and trauma of this political era, we are grateful for the solidarity among our members, their courage to fight everyday for an accessible, humanistic health care system, and the power we are continuing to build with each other for a workplace that centers us. Our contract ensured that laid off staff got 6 weeks of severance pay, a pay out for unused vacation time, and COBRA coverage to continue their health insurance at no cost to them. This is a necessary safety net but we know that our members, and all workers, deserve so much more. We will continue to fight for the conditions we know our communities need to thrive, within Community Catalyst and beyond. We are always ✊

01/10/2025

01/08/2025

Today we highlight Izzy’s words. We are grateful for our members!

01/06/2025

Today we highlight Ray & why CCU is important to them. CCU is committed to our members’! Thank you Ray for sharing with us. 💚