They work with gardens, so they like garden puns, Caroline Sprague said.
Thus, it's only natural that Denver Urban Gardens Workers United say they want to "sow solidarity."
This week, a group of 10 DUG workers signed a letter to management, saying they want to start a union and giving their bosses until Friday afternoon to voluntarily recognize their effort. If the nonprofit's leaders don't, Sprague and her colleagues plan to hold an election to see if they can officially, collectively organize and negotiate a contract on pay and working conditions.
"I think our story may in some ways be unique, in that we love where we work," Sprague told us on Thursday. "This union in no way reflects a uniform feeling of discomfort or frustration for us. It's really got a lot of excitement and hope in it."
Brooke Gabbert, Denver Urban Gardens' board president, said in a statement to Denverite that "The Board is learning about this request and will work through this process as necessary.
"We are actively engaged in conversations with the entire DUG team and look forward to ongoing dialogue that will ensure DUG remains a vibrant and impactful organization," the statement continued.
DUG started in a "grassroots" way. Union advocates say this move would fit with the organization's origins.
The nonprofit began "as a grassroots movement" in the 1970s, its website states, when Northside Denverites worked to transform a parking lot into a place where a group of Hmong women could grow their own food. The Pecos Community Garden, completed in 1978, is still home to crops on 20 plots in Highland.
The group formalized its nonprofit status in 1985 and now boasts 193 gardens across six counties in the metro.
Shay Moon, one of the organizing staffers, said he and his colleagues hope DUG leadership will recognize that their union push is in line with the nonprofit's original spirit.
"There's a real throughline here, with a union forming now," he told us.
The organization has grown quickly in the last year, Moon added, which is one reason why it may be appropriate to organize. There are currently about 20 full-time employees on staff. The 10 who signed the unionization letter all started working there in the last year or so, he said.
Denverite reached out to two employees who have worked there longer than 12 months. One didn't respond; the other declined to comment.
"DUG has doubled in size in a year, and I think that growth has been imperfect," he told us. "Our focus at this stage is we would just like for the decision making processes to be a little more democratic and transparent."
He and his colleagues would like to have input on funding, organizational priorities and where new gardens might go, which he said is happening in a "black box" right now.
In 2021, DUG controversially sold the El Oasis garden property in Highland, which its former executive director said helped get them out of debt. Moon said his feeling is the nonprofit is on fine financial footing now, and that they can afford to let workers in on how they use their funds.
This is the latest in a string of union pushes in Denver.
In the last few years, national news outlets have focused on an "organizing wave" in all corners of the country. We've seen it most recently with film industry writers and actors, not to mention high-profile organizing by Amazon workers. Starbucks employees have submitted union paperwork around the country, including in Denver.
In the last few months, employees from Casa Bonita, the Mercury Cafe and the youth homeless shelter Urban Peak have made pushes to unionize, too.
Though Sprague said DUG's organizing effort is a little different, since they're not framing this about pay or the nature of their work, she said she has been inspired by the momentum she's seen elsewhere.
"Absolutely, I mean, I think when you see other workers coming together and articulate their rights, it is the most powerful thing that you can witness as a worker," she said. "It plants a seed of hope. It really encourages you to look around and talk to your coworkers. It gives you points of reference. It gives you examples of what works and what doesn't."
She said DUG Workers United didn't say much to outsiders about their growing movement, but she's heard from other local unions since they announced their intentions. DUG Workers United aims to become part of the Denver Newspaper Guild, a subsidiary of the Communications Workers Of America, which Sprague said has had success unionizing nonprofit employees in the area.
Correction: This story was clarified to state that union organizers are not framing their efforts around pay and working conditions.
Editor's Note: The CEO of Denver Urban Gardens, Linda Appel Lipsius, is a member of CPR's board of directors.
