First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
Workers at Barack Obama’s $850 million Presidential Center in Chicago are moving to unionize — accusing the Obama Foundation of piling on workloads, rolling back benefits, and answering their concerns with “vague responses.” And they’re doing it using Obama’s own words.
On Wednesday, 68 employees signed an open letter to colleagues announcing the drive. They’re organizing as “Obama Workers United” with AFSCME Council 31, the big public-employees union. If it succeeds, the union would cover more than 250 workers across the Chicago campus, the foundation’s Washington offices, and remote staff around the country.
The grievances are blunt: no pay increases this winter, promotions suspended, health care costs going up, paid time off cut — all while workloads keep growing and experienced colleagues keep walking out the door, taking their institutional knowledge with them. “At the end of the day, we’re the ones who are facing those impacts, and we don’t even have a seat at the table,” said Luke Gilday, an Obama Foundation employee on the organizing committee.
The twist the workers are leaning into is the one that stings most. Their letter quotes Obama’s own 2016 open letter to working Americans: “If I were looking for a good job that lets me build some security for my family, I’d join a union. If I saw a problem in my workplace, I’d organize my coworkers to do something about it.” They saw problems. They organized. AFSCME’s Roberta Lynch said the workers “can ensure that the Foundation and Presidential Center are every bit as good a place to work as the Center is to visit.”
The money picture makes it worse. The center cost $850 million to build — the most expensive presidential center on record — while the foundation’s revenue reportedly dropped by a quarter last year. Fox News Digital previously reported that CEO Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s longtime adviser, pulled in $740,000 in 2024. And for comparison: President Trump’s new White House ballroom, now pegged at about $400 million and paid for with private donations, costs less than half what Obama’s monument to himself cost.
The Obama Foundation says it respects the effort. “We are deeply committed to the fundamental right of workers to organize and make their voices heard,” a spokesperson said, adding that the foundation approaches the process “with immense gratitude for their contributions, deep respect for unions, and a sincere commitment to working collaboratively with our partners in labor.”
The center opened to the public on June 19 — less than four months ago. Workers are now signing union authorization cards and asking foundation leadership for voluntary recognition. There is no timeline yet for a contract.