More Perfect Union Foundation is the charitable arm of the More Perfect Union Action, a pro-labor union advocacy group. Together, the two organizations publish the More Perfect Union news website, which is geared to building up support for labor unions and other left-of-center causes.

The news outlet was formed by an advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The news outlet, while not officially a part of Sanders’s political operation, does share common goals and political viewpoints. The purpose of the news outlet is to increase labor union membership, build support for the political views promoted by labor union leadership, and to criticize American business. The news outlet also is geared towards pushing President Joe Biden further to the left. ¹

Overview

More Perfect Union Foundation is a pro-labor union 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves as the charitable arm of the More Perfect Union Action. Together, the two organization publish the More Perfect Union digital news website, which is geared towards building support for left-wing causes. ²

More Perfect Union news website was formed in February 2021 to promote issues important to labor union leadership. The media outlet has a major focus on video and social media. The news organization has recorded videos of employees of large businesses such as Amazon, Frito-Lay, and Kellogg’s working in allegedly unsafe conditions. Published on social media websites such as Twitter, these videos have at time generated more than two million views. The news outlet also maintains a steady presence and large engagement on the video-sharing app TikTok. ³

Classroom

In November 2021, More Perfect Union debuted a vertical that it called Classroom. It views itself as the left-leaning alternative to the conservative video channel PragerU. ⁴

The Classroom makes arguments for left-leaning policy and views. Its first video was in support of universal government-funded childcare. ⁵

Advocacy

The website was founded by veterans of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign. The news outlet, while not officially part of Sanders’s political operation, does share many views with Sanders. In addition, one of the founders of the website remains an advisor to Sanders. ⁶

In March 2021, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain tweeted a More Perfect Union video that showed efforts to unionize an Amazon warehouse in Alabama. The retweet of the video came shortly after President Biden announced his support for unionization efforts at the warehouse. ⁷

Leadership

Faiz Shakir is head of More Perfect Union Foundation. Shakir is the former campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign. He is a former employee of Think Progress, the defunct media outlet run by the Center for American Progress. Shakir modeled More Perfect Union as a digital version of Think Progress with an emphasis on videos and graphics. ⁸ Sharkir is also the former political director of the ACLU and worked in the office of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). ⁹

Malea Stenzel Gilligan is another Bernie 2020 alum. She has also worked on numerous left-of-center causes such as Vote Vets, National Wildlife Federation, and the campaign of the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN). ¹⁰

Nico Pitney is a former top editor of the Huffington Post and NowThisNews. ¹¹

Finances

The organization acknowledges that it receives donations from George Soros’s Open Society Foundations. ¹²

1. Markay, Lachlan. “Sanders’ Campaign Chief Is Running a New Media Startup Aimed at Pushing Biden to the Left.” Axios, March 11, 2021. https://www.axios.com/2021/03/11/sanders-shakir-biden-media-startup.
2. “About.” More Perfect Union. Accessed December 5, 2022. https://perfectunion.us/about/.
3.  Smith, Ben. “Why the Media Loves Labor Now.” New York Times. November 7, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/07/business/media/labor-unions-media-coverage.html.
4. Smith, Ben. “Why the Media Loves Labor Now.” New York Times. November 7, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/07/business/media/labor-unions-media-coverage.html.
5.  Smith, Ben. “Why the Media Loves Labor Now.” New York Times. November 7, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/07/business/media/labor-unions-media-coverage.html.
6. Markay, Lachlan. “Sanders’ Campaign Chief Is Running a New Media Startup Aimed at Pushing Biden to the Left.” Axios. March 11, 2021. https://www.axios.com/2021/03/11/sanders-shakir-biden-media-startup
7. Markay, Lachlan. “Sanders’ Campaign Chief Is Running a New Media Startup Aimed at Pushing Biden to the Left.” Axios. March 11, 2021. https://www.axios.com/2021/03/11/sanders-shakir-biden-media-startup.
8. Markay, Lachlan. “Sanders’ Campaign Chief Is Running a New Media Startup Aimed at Pushing Biden to the Left.” Axios. March 11, 2021. https://www.axios.com/2021/03/11/sanders-shakir-biden-media-startup.
9. “About.” More Perfect Union. Accessed December 5, 2022. https://perfectunion.us/about/.
10. “About.” More Perfect Union. Accessed December 5, 2022. https://perfectunion.us/about/.
11. Smith, Ben. “Why the Media Loves Labor Now.” New York Times. November 7, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/07/business/media/labor-unions-media-coverage.html.
12. Smith, Ben. “Why the Media Loves Labor Now.” New York Times. November 7, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/07/business/media/labor-unions-media-coverage.html.