Bird Union Workers Tell Audubon Union Busting Won't Fly

By Avalon Edwards and Thomas Birmingham - In These Times, May 3, 2024

It had been just two weeks since Emily Lark gave birth to her second child. Her partner, Eva Lark, was already at the office, getting back into the groove of their grueling 70-hour work week as a public programs manager. In the middle of the day, while bouncing from one Zoom call to the next, Eva received a phone call from Emily. Something was off.

“I’m dizzy. I can’t catch my breath,” said Emily. At first, she had chalked it up to residual stress in the aftermath of an intense pregnancy. But the dizziness and shortness of breath wouldn’t go away, and when Emily called Eva, she was scared. ​“We need to go to the hospital now.” 

At the hospital, Emily was promptly diagnosed with postpartum complications — preeclampsia, which, if untreated, can cause seizures, organ damage and high blood pressure. She was then admitted for an extended stay. 

But Eva, an employee of the National Audubon Society for more than nine years, had already used up their allotted two weeks of paid parental leave. To look after Emily and their two young children, they were forced to use accrued vacation time. 

“The stress on both of us was very severe,” said Lark. “[Audubon] even had the gall to say, ​‘We’re so excited you’re expanding your family.’ I was like, ​‘Don’t be excited. Give me equal benefits.’”

If Eva had been a non-union employee, however, they would have been on paid parental leave for another four weeks. 

Eva’s crisis represents just one of many ongoing battles between the Audubon Society, an environmental nonprofit that pledges to ​“stand up” for birds, and the nonprofit’s roughly 250-person Bird Union, formerly known as Audubon For All. In March 2021, news broke about a union drive inside the organization — an effort that had been in the works for more than a year. In the roughly three years since, Audubon management has responded by refusing to voluntarily recognize the union, hiring union-busting consultants and granting unequal benefits between unionized and non-unionized staff.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author.