Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU)

The Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU; sometimes “Non-Profit Employees Union”) is a labor union that represents employees at non-profit organizations, with most of its represented staffs working in left-of-center advocacy groups in Washington, D.C.1  NPEU is a local affiliate (Local 70) of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), an international labor union affiliated with the AFL-CIO labor union federation.2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Labor Union, Local Union
Issue Areas: Economic Policy
Website: npeu.org
Location: Washington, DC View on map

Contents

    Background

    IFPTE Local 70 was formed in 1998 after a group of nonprofit employees at the labor union-backed think tank Economic Policy Institute (EPI) contacted IFPTE about creating a union. The union is headquartered within EPI’s Washington, D.C. offices. 3

    IFPTE Local 70 was rebranded as NPEU after the AFL-CIO conducted a survey of non-unionized professionals in 2016 to determine how to overcome union-skeptical attitudes and organize workers in white-collar professions. The rebranding included adopting the NPEU name, and developing a new website and logo that “spoke to similarly employed professionals.” 4 As part of its outreach after rebranding, NPEU placed “adver-torials,” or paid advertisements that resembled articles, in publications read widely in the non-profit sector. 5

    Workplaces Organized

    Nonprofit Professional Employees Union represents employees at left-of-center nonprofit organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Economic and Policy Research, International Labor Rights Foundation, Community Change, Jews United for Justice, National Women’s Law Center, and Voces de la Frontera. 6

    As of 2024, the union reported 1,485 members to the Department of Labor.7

    Finances and Leadership

    Nonprofit Professional Employees Union, IFPTE Local 70, files annual reports with the Department of Labor and annual tax returns with the IRS. According to the union’s 2024 tax return, NPEU had six employees, and its board officers received small compensation.2

    According to its 2024 Labor Department report, the union raised $564,517, with all but slightly more than $6,000 deriving from dues and fees. The union spent $527,916, of which $124,628 constituted per-capita-tax payments to national and regional union bodies.8

    As of its 2024 Labor Department filing, Amy Chin-Lai, a software engineer for Action Network, holds the office of NPEU president, for which she received no salary and $3,459 in total disbursements for expenses and allowances.910

    Labor Actions

    In November 2019, NPEU filed an unfair labor practices action against the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). In November 2018, NCTE staff had asked for voluntary recognition of their union (in lieu of a union election), but NCTE management allegedly used union-busting tactics and never recognized the union. According to NPEU, after NCTE staff walked out in protest in August 2019, management began discharging union-eligible employees in order to bust the proposed union. 11

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    References

    1. Nonprofit Professional Employees Union. Accessed January 21, 2026. https://npeu.org/.
    2. International Federation Of Professional & Technical Engineers, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2024 https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522172832/202530929349300513/full
    3. “About IFPTE Local 70.” Non-Profit Employees Union. Accessed January 27, 2020. https://npeu.org/about-1
    4. “Reaching the Unorganized.” AFL-CIO. October 18, 2018. Accessed January 27, 2020. https://medium.com/@DPEaflcio/reaching-the-unorganized-290a9abad83f
    5. Kayla Blado and John Schmitt. “Unions help address the unique needs of nonprofit workers.” The Hill. September 16, 2018. Accessed January 27, 2020. https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/406545-unions-help-address-the-unique-needs-of-nonprofit-workers
    6. “About the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU).” Nonprofit Professional Employees Union. Accessed January 21, 2026. https://npeu.org/about-1.
    7. International Federation Of Professional & Technical Engineers Local 70 (File Number 542-862), Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2024, Item 20 https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=904426&rptForm=LM2Form
    8. International Federation Of Professional & Technical Engineers Local 70 (File Number 542-862), Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2024, Statement B https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=904426&rptForm=LM2Form
    9. International Federation Of Professional & Technical Engineers Local 70 (File Number 542-862), Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2024, Schedule 11 https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=904426&rptForm=LM2Form
    10. “Amy Chin-Lai – Software Engineer at the Action Network, President of Nonprofit Professional Employees Union, IFPTE 70 | Linkedin.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 21, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amychinlai/.
    11. Aimee Ortiz. “National Transgender Group Sees Exodus of Workers in Clashes With Leaders.” New York Times. November 16, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/16/us/open-letter-National-Center-for-Transgender-Equality.html