More Perfect Union | |
Formation: | February 2021 |
Leader Title: | Executive Director |
Leader Name: | Faiz Shakir |
More Perfect Union is a progressive non-profit news media organization founded in February 2021 by Faiz Shakir. The outlet, named after a phrase in the U.S. Constitution, specializes in video reporting and opinion coverage about the American labor movement, economic policy, and corporate accountability.[1]
In August 2021, More Perfect Union won the Sidney Award for outstanding investigative journalism.[2]
In August 2021, More Perfect Union won the Sidney Award for its coverage of the Frito-Lay strike. "MPU was the first national outlet to cover the strike," the Sidney Hillman Foundation wrote in awarding the prize. "They published dispatches from the ground over a three-week period which collectively generated over 4 million views and spurred follow-on coverage by outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and NPR... After a three-week strike, Frito's Topeka plant struck an agreement to end the 'suicide shifts' and forced 7-day workweeks."[2]
Also in August 2021, More Perfect Union confirmed with actor Danny DeVito that he had been stripped of his verified status on Twitter after he tweeted a message of solidarity to striking Nabisco workers: "NO CONTRACT NO SNACKS."[3] The news spread widely and contributed to DeVito and his rallying cry becoming popular labor memes.[4]
In November 2021, More Perfect Union launched an explainer series called "The Class Room". It is "aimed at providing a left-wing answer to PragerU, a YouTube titan of right-wing ideology," the New York Times reported.
More Perfect Union says it receives funding from various donors, including fromGeorge Soros' Open Society Foundations, but does not take money from labor unions.[5]
In 2023 The Class Room was awarded The Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis.[6]