On 27 February 2026 an email was sent to staff

Unions are not structured to represent non-union members or formally negotiate issues on behalf of non-union groups. This is important because of concerns raised about the Foundation’s relationship with the Wikimedia movement around how decisions are made. We care deeply about this and are working to address it through different avenues.

Statements by User:Jimbo Wales on his talk page on 28 July

The Foundation is taking a totally neutral stance. We will have a vote and the results will determine what happens. The rest of what you say is just... unfair. There's nothing union busting here at all. There are no "union-avoidance law firms" involved here and no effort to do anything bad at all. There is no attempt by the WMF to prevent a union from happening. There's no insulting behavior here at all by the WMF. The hostility you are expressing here is not fact based at all. I highly suggest that we all take a deep breath and reach for one of the most important values of Wikipedia: Assume good faith.

I don't agree at all that the WMF management is acting in *any way* that is even *remotely similar* to "union busting". If they were I would gladly and strongly speak out against that. I can tell you that neither the board nor management will do anything to "derail" the process. There is absolutely nothing "union busting" about asking for a proper vote so that everyone on staff has the opportunity to have their say in a formal and confidential way - that's just good governance and I don't see any reason for us to characterize it negatively. Jimbo Wales (talk) 18:05, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Include video and text statements by BMeehan-WMF

May 24th

Wikimedia Foundation respects the rights of all eligible employees to determine for themselves whether to pursue union representation. We are committed to ensuring that any process related to union conversations respects the rights and perspectives of all staff. We aren’t only doing this because the law requires it; I want the Foundation to operate this way because I think it’s the right approach.

August 3rd after it was confirmed that Littler Mendelson represents WMF regarding Wiki Worker United union

The lawyers at this law firm [Littler Mendelson] have a lot of expertise in unions and related laws beyond what you may read in the news. The Foundation received recommendations to work with these specific lawyers from other values-based organizations (non profit/public benefit companies) and because of their familiarity with unionized staff who work in technology

We end this neutral timeline with a simple question.