The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a left-leaning activist organization, is facing internal turmoil as its CEO, Margaret Huang, receives a vote of non-confidence from the staff.
This comes in response to Huang's decision to lay off a significant portion of the workforce last June, a move that the staff has likened to the union-busting tactics typically associated with conservative entities.
According to The Post Millennial, the SPLC union announced a staggering 92 percent vote of non-confidence in Huang. Armed with this overwhelming response, the union is now demanding Huang's resignation or removal and a reversal of the layoffs that have reduced staff levels by a quarter. In a bid to rally public support, the union has also launched a petition to back its demands.
Lisa Wright, the chairwoman of the unions bargaining committee, who served the SPLC for 23 years before being laid-off, expressed her dismay to The Guardian. Shock, horror, confusion. Its been sloppy, dispassionate, inhumane. It has been the absolute opposite of what the organization says they stand for and absolute chaos since then, Wright said.
Interestingly, the SPLC, despite its professed commitment to organized labor, did not unionize until 2019. Workers felt the need for a union to shield them from alleged discrimination and sexual harassment within the organization, which publicly pledges to combat such issues.
Huang assumed the role of CEO a year after the unionization but took two years to finalize her first union contract. She was preparing to negotiate a second contract when the layoffs occurred. Esteban Gil, the SPLC employee who succeeded Wright as the union chairman, criticized the organization's handling of the situation. It was just a real kick in the teeth. This whole situation could have been handled so much better, Gil stated.
Gil further accused the SPLC of disregarding the union during its layoff planning. He highlighted the organization's potential inability to provide adequate legal services to illegal immigrants, especially in light of former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's vow to deport illegals.
This was designed with trauma as a feature, not a bug to keep us confused, hopeless, afraid, divided, Gil said. It has been strategic, sloppily strategic, but its to bust our union not to make the organization stronger, not to develop our programs, not to do any of those things. Because to me, it screams incompetence if you cant change directions and move the pieces on the board without knocking all the pieces off the board to make a new plan.
Thereatha Redding, a former SPLC employee who provided legal services to illegal immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, echoed Gil's sentiments. Redding and her entire legal team were laid off without any prior notice.
They talk about working with people in the communities, the deep south, and they just dismantled a program that was helping individuals in the deep south, Redding said. They did not even have the sense or the notion to even notify the people in our community.
The SPLC has remained silent on the accusations of union-busting and "inhumane" treatment of its staff. However, it has rejected the union's call to oust the CEO. An SPLC spokesperson said in an email obtained by The Guardian: The SPLC Board was unanimous in re-affirming its support of the recent reorganization and in its recognition of the leadership of CEO Margaret Huang. We respect the bargaining units right to oppose the changes to the SPLC programs and activities, and we empathize with all employees who were impacted by the staff restructure."
The unfolding crisis within the SPLC, an organization that has long championed workers' rights, raises questions about its commitment to its own staff. The staff's allegations of union-busting tactics and the organization's refusal to address these claims further underscore the discord within the SPLC. As the union continues to fight for its demands, the future of the SPLC remains uncertain.
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