Further to the events described in the previous Signpost issue, Wiki Workers United (WWU) announced on 5 August 2026 that the Wikimedia Foundation leadership had signed a stipulated agreement allowing eligible U.S. Wikimedia staffers to vote for the formation of a WWU branch within the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The WWU statement said:

According to our agreement, ballots will be mailed out to eligible U.S. workers on August 11 and will be counted on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at 2:00pm PDT at the San Francisco Regional NLRB Office. In order to be counted, ballots must be received in the regional office before the count.

We welcome management's cooperation as an example of the Foundation putting into practice their public commitment to a speedy election process and to bargaining in good faith. We will do our part to continue this collaboration with leadership, in keeping with the spirit of our movement.

WWU U.S. also expressed its thanks to the volunteer community for standing beside Wikimedia workers.

In the UK, negotiations on the precise scope of the bargaining unit – i.e., which UK workers would be represented through collective bargaining – are still ongoing. The WWU wishes to include managers; the WMF side is arguing that managers and those with access to confidential information should be excluded.

Jimmy Wales initially pushed back against the notion that the Wikimedia Foundation had hired union-busting lawyers. He subsequently corrected himself, explaining that he had personally been unaware of Littler Mendelson having been hired and considers the decision a mistake.

@Femke I was not aware when I said that no union busting law firms had been hired that Littler Mendelson had been hired. When I found out, I immediately emailed the WMF to say that I think it was a mistake and to recommend firing them immediately. As of today (the day after my 60th birthday, which I have been spending on vacation with my extended family) I do not know exactly when they were hired. Obviously I am unhappy about every aspect of that. Jimbo Wales (talk) 00:41, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

The following day, however, having spoken with WMF leadership, he said he saw no great problem with the actual work Littler Mendelson had been asked to do:

Hi everyone just a quick update. As I have mentioned I will be back at my desk tomorrow afternoon UK time (jetlagged) and have cleared a lot of time next week.

My initial instinct based on reading public material is much like yours. I have looked into it and spoken further with the Foundation leadership team to try to learn more about where things stand.

I am satisfied with the specific work the Foundation has asked Littler to do. My concern is with the optics of working with this firm, but I do think what matters most are our actions, and I want to be clear that I think there has been no bad faith here. I am confident the team will conduct this process according to our values.

In terms of details, the work the WMF has asked Littler to do includes understanding our global footprint - not every firm has the global expertise that we need as a global movement - and to look at the best, fairest, and most equitable pathways that will work for our global organization. We are choosing the pathways that allowed to get swiftly to a fair vote, and to bargain in good faith.

It is important to note that the WMF has made a clear commitment, to me and to all of us, to do the right things here.

As I say I will be spending the next week on this and I very much hope we can bring down the heat in the conversations. I particular I ask people to take a breather from petitions, RFCs and the like for the moment. I'd like to take the time I need to try to help everyone get on the same page. Jimbo Wales (talk) 01:17, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

The exact timeline and scope of Littler Mendelson's involvement remain elusive to this day. On 6 August Wikimedia Foundation board member Lorenzo Losa was asked:

1. Could you please say when the WMF first sought the assistance of Littler Mendelson?
2. When did you and other board members learn that Littler Mendelson had been contracted to work on this?
3. And which outside law firm, if any, provided advice for the February WMF message to employees?

On 12 August, the same questions were put to Jimmy Wales, who has said he will ask in his next meeting with the WMF whether the Littler hiring date can be released. To date no further information has been made public.

On CEO Bernadette Meehan's Meta-Wiki talk page, a call for her to resign, posted by User:Sohom Datta, has attracted around 50 supporters.

The WWU solidarity petition became the most supported proposal or petition ever on English-language Wikipedia on 21 August 2026, when the number of signatures surpassed 1375.

See also:

• This Signpost issue's Special report on the Wikimania conference and its aftermath
• Wiki Workers United: Announcements

–AK

As announced on Diff on August 11, Raju Narisetti, a Board-selected trustee, stepped off the WMF Board at the end of July after nine years of service. His tenure had been due to end on January 1, 2027 (after a term extension granted by the Board in August 2025; the Foundation's bylaws stipulate that trustees "may serve a maximum of three consecutive full terms (that is, nine years).").

Raju served nine years on the Board's Audit Committee. At different points he chaired the Talent & Culture committee and also (from 2025) the Governance committee responsible for the Board selection process. In that capacity, he oversaw the controversial changes to the process for electing trustees by community vote, implemented shortly before last year's board elections, and recommended the removal of two shortlisted community members as candidates (Signpost coverage). As reported in last issue's "News and notes", the governance committee just recently (on 17 July) presented its revised eligibility criteria for board candidates that the board had pledged to review after last year's community pushback. Following further community discussions, on July 31, trustee Maciej Nadzikiewicz (appointed as new chair of the Governance Committee earlier that month) posted an update acknowledging that "We realize that our proposal needs more work".

Raju's departure leaves the Board at 10 members. The Wikimedia Foundation has announced "Our 2026 Trustee search", inviting nominations or submissions for new appointed Board members. While not specifying hard eligibility criteria, it lists various "Essential Experience and Values" and "Priority Skills, Knowledge or Expertise".

Raju left a good-bye message on LinkedIn (archive.org copy), looking back at his time on the Wikimedia Foundation Board:

After nine years and the maximum three terms, I stepped down as a Trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia.

It has been an extraordinary period to have had a small part in stewarding an institution that matters deeply to the world. These years saw unprecedented growth and, in recent years, unprecedented challenges for Wikipedia, and the broader movement committed to free knowledge.

I had the privilege of serving alongside four Board Chairs: Christophe Henner, María Sefidari Huici, Nataliia Tymkiv and Lorenzo Losa, and three CEOs. I was especially fortunate, as Chair of the Board’s CEO Selection Committee, to help bring two CEOs, Maryana Iskander and Bernadette Meehan, to the Foundation. [...]

But what stays with me most isn’t the committee work or governance milestones. It's what I learned from the people who build, edit, protect and sustain this remarkable public resource. [...]

I leave with a lifetime’s worth of personal growth and ringside learning from one of the world’s largest and most complex technology platforms, reaching more than 1.5 billion devices each month, while remaining rooted in an enduring ambitious idea that every human being should be able to freely share in the sum of all knowledge. [...]

Thank you to the many Wiki volunteers, editors, staff, fellow trustees and movement leaders around the world who taught me so much over these nine years. It was a privilege to serve.

The Signpost wishes Raju well in his future endeavours.

–AK, H

• Upcoming Wikimedia Café: Two opportunities for discussion of matters of concern to Wikimedians are scheduled in August, with a focus on the Next 25 initiative.
  • 29 August 2026 15:00 UTC (timestamp converter), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe;
  • 30 August 2026 03:00 UTC (timestamp converter), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific.
• 1–30 September WikiProject Organized Labour/2026 Online Campaign and Labour Women in Red is a month-long online Wikipedia edit-a-thon co-organised by WikiProjects Organized Labour and Women in Red to improve content related to organized labour, with a special focus on women in labor unions, and improving global WP:WORLDVIEW.
• Articles for Improvement: This week's Article for Improvement is Boy beginning 24 August, followed by Archipelago (beginning 31 August 2026). Please be bold in helping improve these articles!