Support laid off Center for Public Integrity workers!

Hello! My name is Joe Yerardi and I’m the former unit chair at the Center for Public Integrity Union.

In March, Center management informed us that they intended to lay off nearly all of CPI’s staff — and nearly all of our unit. The first half of those layoffs took effect on May 1. The second half takes effect today, May 17.

The Center was founded way back in 1989 — the Pleistocene in terms of nonprofit newsrooms — with a mission of holding power to account. Many hundreds of journalists passed through its doors in the 35 years since, dedicated to furthering that mission. And while CEOs and executive directors came and went, each seeking to put their own spin on the Center and its mission, the dedication of its staff has remained a constant.

We started organizing with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild in 2018, proud of the legacy of this organization and committed to making it a better place to work. The members of the CPI Union over the past five-plus years fought to create a more equitable, fair and diverse workplace at CPI. We succeeded.

We're not sure what's next for CPI. What's clear is that the layoff of almost all of the Center's staff — save a few contract-term employees — is a tragedy. If this turns out to be the end of the newsroom, we're proud CPI will end its days as a union shop.

Our contract mandates severance for our laid off members. However, severance payouts might not be enough to fill the gap in every member's budget.

So we're asking for your help. All the funds collected from this fundraiser will go to laid off employees who are experiencing particular financial hardship to help them cover bills, rent or mortgage, medical costs and other living expenses.

We thank you for all the support you’ve given CPI and our members as they’ve produced the journalism that has meant so much to so many of you. And we thank you again now for any additional support you are able to provide.

In solidarity,

The members of the CPI Union

Disclaimer: This fundraiser is managed by Joe Yerardi, a former Center for Public Integrity employee on behalf of laid off CPI Union members experiencing financial hardship as a result of the layoff. The funds here will be disbursed evenly to our former colleagues experiencing such hardship to help them stay afloat. Funds from this GoFundMe are collected independently from the Washington-Baltimore News Guild and The NewsGuild - Communications Workers of America.