L.A. Greenpeace office closed suddenly by parent company

By Jenny Blake
Daily Bruin Contributor

After both of their office directors were fired, 22 Los Angeles
Greenpeace workers ““ the same ones who used to solicit
pledges on Bruin Walk ““ found themselves locked out of their
office and out of work the next day.

Both former Greenpeace office directors Brande Jackson and Dan
Binaei allege that their Jan. 21 termination by the directors of
their parent organization ““ The Fund For Public Interest
Research ““ was linked with their efforts to form a union.

Though he wouldn’t comment specifically on personnel
matters, FFPIR National Canvass Director Ed Johnson said Jackson
and Binaei were fired because they were no longer qualified to run
the office.

“We never want to close an office if we don’t have
to,” Johnson said. “We try to consider options and be
as undisruptive as possible, but the reality was that we
didn’t have qualified people.”

Jackson said she and Binaei were told by Johnson and Ben Flamm,
the regional canvass director, that they were fired because the
FFPIR directors “had lost trust” in them to run the
office.

Individual non-profit organizations such as Greenpeace, CALPIRG
and the Sierra Club hire FFPIR to help solicit donors, manage
campaign efforts and aid with membership development.

In the weeks before losing their jobs, Jackson and Binaei were
in the process of forming a union to push for health benefits that
weren’t explicitly denied but that they said they
hadn’t yet received.

“(FFPIR) never denied health benefits,” Binaei said.
“It was just the bureaucracy to get them in a timely
manner.”

“(FFPIR) was nearly completely unresponsive for the months
that we inquired into the benefits that many of our staff were
qualified for and promised upon their hiring,” Jackson wrote
in an e-mail dated Feb. 20. “Our only conclusion to the
sudden closing of our office is that the FFPIR was practicing a
form of “˜progressive union busting.'”

Johnson said he could not comment on the Greenpeace
employees’ efforts to form a union or on policy related to
specific compensation or health benefits, but said he is confident
that FFPIR effectively carries out its policies and promised
benefits.

Jackson is working to persuade FFPIR directors to reconsider
their decision to close the office. Though she has not spoken with
them directly, she is contacting other groups involved with
FFPIR.

“(Closing the office) seemed like a pretty unnecessary
step to take for an office that was doing that well,” Jackson
said.

The L.A. Greenpeace office was the largest grossing office in
the country, according to Jackson.

Offices close for a number of reasons, Johnson said.

“Anytime we have to close an office, it’s not an
ideal situation,” Johnson said. “It wouldn’t
surprise me if at some point in the future (the L.A. Greenpeace
office) reopened, but I don’t have an idea of when.

“It’s not the first office we’ve closed, nor
will it be the last.”

The other terminated employees were offered a choice between
working at another FFPIR office in Los Angeles or a two-week
severance package, Johnson said.

“We tried to take care of the employees and wanted them to
have the opportunity to work with us elsewhere,” Johnson
said. “Understanding that not everyone could or would want to
do that, we wanted to provide them with some cushion.”