The International Foundation for Electoral Systems — a pro-democracy organization based outside Washington, D.C. — has paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to five former employees, expunged disciplinary records, and posted written commitments to uphold U.S. labor law in a settlement agreement with its recently unionized workforce.
The settlement — reached in August by IFES, the union, and the National Labor Relations Board — resolves a slew of unfair labor practice complaints that the union filed against the organization. NLRB, a U.S. government agency that enforces employee rights, found merit in 15 complaints from the union and began hearing testimony in July.
The settlement resolves those complaints before any final ruling by NLRB. An IFES spokesperson told Devex that its terms should not be seen as evidence that the organization did anything wrong.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
