JPL is committed to fostering a collaborative environment between employees and leaders to support our shared mission – to lead in space exploration and earth-science advancement. Mission success requires scientific curiosity, cohesive teamwork, rapid decision-making, and an effective and responsive workforce.
In this moment, we understand that JPL is not perfect. But we greatly value the working relationship we have built, and we believe that we are strongest and better when we can face our challenges through open dialogue and a shared commitment to “dare mighty things” together. While we deeply respect the role that organized labor has played in advocating for workplace protections in our nation’s history, we believe that forming a union at JPL at this time would restrict our ability to address the urgent challenges we are facing as a lab. These challenges are largely driven by forces outside of JPL, such as budget cuts and the broader pressures on our field. In this existential moment for JPL, we believe that a union would not help – and in fact would impede – our ability to confront these challenges.
We are concerned that a union could make JPL more bureaucratic, hampering our working partnerships between management and employees and slowing down our ability to solve problems quickly. In our view, maintaining the ability to respond swiftly and effectively in direct collaboration with employees to address issues that may arise – without the constraints of a labor union – will preserve the unique strengths of our community and protect the shared mission at JPL.
We believe the best way to advocate for JPL and all its employees is to do so without internal divisions. We believe that the best way to continue to build on and strengthen our collaboration at JPL is by listening, evolving, and problem solving – together. Working together has allowed us to accomplish incredible scientific achievements – to “Dare Mighty Things.”
One mission. One JPL.
