Get the Facts

Would a union help JPL?

Getting the facts right about forming a union is important. If JPL really wants to help workers understand the facts, we encourage management to distribute clear, accurate information about unionization. Instead, a simple fact check of their previous email shows how their messaging can contain misleading info.

Following the September 10th email, we at JWU again feel the need to validate the information landing in our inboxes.

Management’s email says...
The facts say...
I hope, after understanding all of the facts, you will agree a union is not in JPL’s – or JPLers’ – best interest. To be clear, Lab leadership is not anti-union.
It is expected that management would claim unions are not good for us, because management will have less unilateral control over our working conditions once we form our union.
Management in any organization usually opposes a union because they want to make all of the decisions about our workplace. With a union, we, the JPL employees, will have a say over what our workplace looks like. We want to work together with JPL management to protect science funding and improve JPL. Instead, JPL management is widely distributing misleading information.
As engineers, scientists, and staff who solve the most complex and challenging problems in the universe, we believe that by coming together we can not only protect working conditions for ourselves, but also join a broader movement to protect publicly funded space science.
We just don’t believe a union will solve JPL’s current problems or help us grow and adapt to face new challenges.
We acknowledge that this is an uncertain time, including for JPL; however over half of NASA’s workforce, as well as workers at other FFRDCs, belong to a union, and workforces at other NASA centers have been actively fighting back against cuts proposed by the Trump administration.
Workers are still organizing, with more than 18,351 research / higher education workers forming unions with UAW just in 2025, including 7,200 University of California research and public service staff in Sept 2025. Unions can push back on unlawful cuts – UAW was a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits that successfully restored funding to hundreds of National Institute of Health grants. JPL workers are joining a larger movement of federally-funded researchers and institutions standing up against cuts to science funding.
We believe that, in this existential moment for JPL, the United Auto Workers (UAW) would make JPL more bureaucratic, not less, and impede our ability to remain agile and adapt to the ever-changing environment at NASA and across the space industry.
UAW (United Auto, Aerospace, and Agricultural Workers) has a strong track record of representing researchers and academic workers, and already represents workers at Caltech, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the National Institutes of Health. UAW members have successfully improved their workplaces, protected each other, and preserved science funding during these challenging times. For example, members of UAW 1115, which represents CA state scientists, successfully maintained telework benefits for a 4-day a week return after the state of California issued a return to office order. UAW established a national hotline to connect members with legal professionals who can provide guidance and referrals for immigration-related matters. And UAW participated in lawsuits that have blocked cuts to indirect costs at the NSF, NIH, DoD, DoE, and other agencies.
We - JPLers - are forming a union. In doing so, we would have a unified voice to advocate for ourselves as employees and to work with management to figure out solutions to the difficult challenges facing the lab.
You have the right to campaign for, or against, a union during non-work times in non-work areas
Note this is carefully worded to imply that discussion of unions during work time is not permitted, without actually stating so.
JPLers are allowed to discuss unionization at work, just as we can discuss other non-work topics in the workplace. Your right to this is legally protected by the National Labor Relations Act: “your employer cannot prohibit you from talking about the union during working time if it permits you to talk about other non-work-related matters during working time”.
You have the right to sign, or not sign, a union card or petition
Yes, each employee can choose to sign a union card! Signing a card means that you support forming a union and agree to be represented by the union – that is, JPL workers deciding for ourselves democratically what we want to bargain for and electing peer representatives – in collective bargaining.
You can review the card on our website.
If you have any further questions or concerns about signing a card, you can reach out to info@jplworkersunited.org – a fellow JPLer will get back to you!
You have the right to ask for the union to return your signed authorization card if you have changed your mind.
JWU-UAW fully supports the rights of individuals to make informed decisions at all steps of this process. If you signed a card and have concerns or second thoughts, please contact us at info@jplworkersunited.org.
You have the right to be free from unlawful harassment at all times, and free from solicitation from union supporters while you are working
We firmly believe that all workers should be protected from unlawful harassment. In fact, many union contracts (such as Caltech grad student workers and postdocs) provide harassment and discrimination protections through grievance processes independent from HR.
It is a huge grassroots effort to organize a union, and takes hundreds of conversations, individual outreach, and creating the opportunity for everyone to get involved. Many of us across JPL have been having lots of conversations with co-workers about our campaign, to ensure everyone has the option to sign up, have questions answered, or learn more about how to get involved.
Union supporters and organizers may contact you at work or at home. Please know that JPL did not provide any individuals affiliated with a union with your contact information. We keep that information secure and would not provide it unless required to by law. If a union files a petition for an election, we would be required under federal law to provide the union with some of your personal information.
We are JPLers who want to form a union and are talking to our co-workers about it - we are not interested in your "personal information.” Please see the required fields in the card you sign for the type of information the labor board needs - it is minimal.
JPLers are talking with colleagues to ensure everyone has the correct information and the opportunity to get involved. If you have any questions, please reach out!

Management’s email says...	The facts say...
I hope, after understanding all of the facts, you will agree a union is not in JPL’s – or JPLers’ – best interest. To be clear, Lab leadership is not anti-union.	It is expected that management would claim unions are not good for us, because management will have less unilateral control over our working conditions once we form our union. Management in any organization usually opposes a union because they want to make all of the decisions about our workplace. With a union, we, the JPL employees, will have a say over what our workplace looks like. We want to work together with JPL management to protect science funding and improve JPL. Instead, JPL management is widely distributing misleading information. As engineers, scientists, and staff who solve the most complex and challenging problems in the universe, we believe that by coming together we can not only protect working conditions for ourselves, but also join a broader movement to protect publicly funded space science.
We just don’t believe a union will solve JPL’s current problems or help us grow and adapt to face new challenges.	We acknowledge that this is an uncertain time, including for JPL; however over half of NASA’s workforce, as well as workers at other FFRDCs, belong to a union, and workforces at other NASA centers have been actively fighting back against cuts proposed by the Trump administration. Workers are still organizing, with more than 18,351 research / higher education workers forming unions with UAW just in 2025, including 7,200 University of California research and public service staff in Sept 2025. Unions can push back on unlawful cuts – UAW was a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits that successfully restored funding to hundreds of National Institute of Health grants. JPL workers are joining a larger movement of federally-funded researchers and institutions standing up against cuts to science funding.
We believe that, in this existential moment for JPL, the United Auto Workers (UAW) would make JPL more bureaucratic, not less, and impede our ability to remain agile and adapt to the ever-changing environment at NASA and across the space industry.	UAW (United Auto, Aerospace, and Agricultural Workers) has a strong track record of representing researchers and academic workers, and already represents workers at Caltech, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the National Institutes of Health. UAW members have successfully improved their workplaces, protected each other, and preserved science funding during these challenging times. For example, members of UAW 1115, which represents CA state scientists, successfully maintained telework benefits for a 4-day a week return after the state of California issued a return to office order. UAW established a national hotline to connect members with legal professionals who can provide guidance and referrals for immigration-related matters. And UAW participated in lawsuits that have blocked cuts to indirect costs at the NSF, NIH, DoD, DoE, and other agencies. We - JPLers - are forming a union. In doing so, we would have a unified voice to advocate for ourselves as employees and to work with management to figure out solutions to the difficult challenges facing the lab.
You have the right to campaign for, or against, a union during non-work times in non-work areas	Note this is carefully worded to imply that discussion of unions during work time is not permitted, without actually stating so. JPLers are allowed to discuss unionization at work, just as we can discuss other non-work topics in the workplace. Your right to this is legally protected by the National Labor Relations Act: “your employer cannot prohibit you from talking about the union during working time if it permits you to talk about other non-work-related matters during working time”.
You have the right to sign, or not sign, a union card or petition	Yes, each employee can choose to sign a union card! Signing a card means that you support forming a union and agree to be represented by the union – that is, JPL workers deciding for ourselves democratically what we want to bargain for and electing peer representatives – in collective bargaining. You can review the card on our website. If you have any further questions or concerns about signing a card, you can reach out to info@jplworkersunited.org – a fellow JPLer will get back to you!
You have the right to ask for the union to return your signed authorization card if you have changed your mind.	JWU-UAW fully supports the rights of individuals to make informed decisions at all steps of this process. If you signed a card and have concerns or second thoughts, please contact us at info@jplworkersunited.org.
You have the right to be free from unlawful harassment at all times, and free from solicitation from union supporters while you are working	We firmly believe that all workers should be protected from unlawful harassment. In fact, many union contracts (such as Caltech grad student workers and postdocs) provide harassment and discrimination protections through grievance processes independent from HR. It is a huge grassroots effort to organize a union, and takes hundreds of conversations, individual outreach, and creating the opportunity for everyone to get involved. Many of us across JPL have been having lots of conversations with co-workers about our campaign, to ensure everyone has the option to sign up, have questions answered, or learn more about how to get involved.
Union supporters and organizers may contact you at work or at home. Please know that JPL did not provide any individuals affiliated with a union with your contact information. We keep that information secure and would not provide it unless required to by law. If a union files a petition for an election, we would be required under federal law to provide the union with some of your personal information.	We are JPLers who want to form a union and are talking to our co-workers about it - we are not interested in your "personal information.” Please see the required fields in the card you sign for the type of information the labor board needs - it is minimal. JPLers are talking with colleagues to ensure everyone has the correct information and the opportunity to get involved. If you have any questions, please reach out!