We are PushBlack Workers United (PBWU).

Collectively, we've spent the last five years preserving history, culture, and truth for more than nine million Black Americans at PushBlack, the nation's largest nonprofit Black media organization.

On December 15, 2025, that all changed.

Six content, product, and administrative workers were laid off in a rushed reduction-in-force, announced abruptly right before the holidays. Two of them are in our union and three in contested positions—their livelihoods lost in the blink of an eye.

This is especially devastating as, across the media landscape, we see Black workers facing overwhelming layoffs under Trump’s dystopian administration, making the need for Black-led media more important than ever.

But at PushBlack, the very people who craft, code, and curate these stories were targeted for layoffs, all while executives—far removed from the labor!—remain insulated and unaccountable, putting our entire organization at risk. Because while executives and the board—many who stood by as the former CEO neglected fiduciary responsibilities—have the luxury of continuing to care and provide for themselves and their families, the union’s five impacted workers are now facing immediate financial hardship.

We have filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. As Pushblack has not demonstrated economic hardship, we understand these layoffs to be illegal under labor law as they’ve occurred during status quo negotiations.

We're asking for your help to support our union colleagues who have been impacted and deserve better than this abrupt dismissal. Your donations will help them cover immediate costs such as groceries, rent, bills, and other lifesaving necessities.

THE TRUTH ABOUT PUSHBLACK

Publicly, PushBlack proclaims to value and fight for Black liberation, justice, and care. But internally, it’s another story. Workers have experienced a very different reality.

Earlier this year, our former CEO abruptly dropped the news that, given PushBlack’s financial instability, they’d be laying off up to 50% of our lean workforce—weeks after assurances that no one would be laid off.

Months after workers came together to demand a more equitable workplace, the board remained uncompromising in exploring alternative approaches to layoffs with us, even after at least 10 employees voluntarily left. Then, our new CEO Uzo Ometu’s tenure began. Only a month in, leadership announced yet another round of layoffs in the middle of a critical fundraising campaign and days before the holidays.

WHY THIS FUND MATTERS

Historically, mutual aid has always served as crucial support in Black communities, providing essential resources and solidarity in times of need.

For centuries, Black people have relied on collective care to survive injustice, economic exclusion, and sudden loss. From mutual aid societies and burial funds to rent circles and strike support, we have taken care of one another when systems refused to.

This fund carries that tradition forward.

By giving, you’re joining a living legacy of Black mutual aid, affirming the value of our labor and our lives. Every contribution to this fund goes directly toward supporting the five laid-off workers in our union as they navigate an unjust and destabilizing situation.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THIS STORY

The fight is far from over. PBWU is still fighting to ensure PushBlack lives up to the values it publicly claims. Be sure to follow PBWU on Instagram, Bluesky, and Substack to stay up to date on this moment. Our hope is to encourage collective care as a way to challenge systems that put profit over people, and to inspire more folks to stand against injustice—in the workplace and beyond.