I am a union steward at a national nonprofit organization. Recently, a fellow union member and beloved colleague was forced to go on unpaid leave due to a delay in their work authorization renewal.

The staff who make up our union work every day to create a justice-centered world we want to see by focusing on health justice. Our values are integrity, health justice, transparency, and race equity. We formed a staff union to support our organization in living the values we share externally, internally because we should all have a say in decisions about our work.

Our union sibling is navigating multiple systemic barriers to their livelihood right now. As processing delays impact our immigration system, DACA recipients are caught in the binds of red tape. Like hundreds of thousands of people across the country, DACA recipients contribute essential care, labor, and leadership to their communities while navigating an immigration system that is slow and structurally inequitable. DACA recipients are required to renew work authorization routinely, and the system delays right now are up to 120 days.

Every day, our members show up for communities navigating structural harm, advocating at national, state, and local levels for equitable policies. Like many other nonprofits in this field, we also center people, especially those who experience disproportionate harm from the systems we’re trying to change, in our work. And like many other nonprofits, our organization has intentionally engaged in efforts to bring people with lived experience and representative of these communities into our work. When systems and policies fall short, the union is an opportunity to support people as whole people, not just the labor they contribute.

Through no fault of their own, our member is caught in bureaucratic delay that has interrupted their work. Unfortunately, our union sibling has been on unpaid leave since early February and has a pending employment termination date of March 9th. While our member navigates other options for expediting the work authorization and the union works for alternative solutions, this sudden and unexpected loss of income is creating additional barriers for our member and their family.

This fundraiser is an act of solidarity. It is our union values in practice. Our union believes that solidarity is not symbolic, but material and shows up in real time. Funds raised will help cover basic living expenses during unpaid leave, including health care costs. While we continue our work to change systems, we are supporting real immediate needs. If you are able, contribute. If you cannot give, please consider sharing widely. Every action helps build the kind of collective protection our systems refuse to provide.