The Learning Lab

The Beyond Neutrality Learning Lab provides consultants experienced in nonprofit unionization to advise, train, and coach management in the Beyond Neutrality approach.

Participating organizations contract with Imagine Us LLC, the organizational home for Beyond Neutrality and The Learning Lab, for the support they need. Each engagement is unique.

Since launching in 2023, The Learning Lab has contracted with dozens of organizations to provide much-needed support. Each engagement provides a unique and important opportunity to learn and share the needs and emerging practices of this field.

a common foundation

Beyond Neutrality specializes in supporting nonprofit organizations with a social justice mission. Their budget, structure, geographic location, and situation vary, so each engagement looks different. We ask all organizations if they agree to the foundation of the Learning Lab’s work:

  1. To respond to unionization with a pro-union, anti-racist, and mission-driven approach.

  2. To secure a values-aligned lawyer for aligned legal advice. 

  3. To be willing to share materials and insights from their experience as part of the Learning Lab’s mission to develop a field-wide Beyond Neutrality framework and supporting resources.

If we can’t find a road, we’ll make one

Your journey is unique.

Whether you are just beginning your journey to unionization and a first contract, or you have an established union and want to level up your team, we recognize that each organization has its own needs. That’s why we work to match the practitioner who will best suite your situation. Here are some of the ways we offer shared learning and support:

  • Team and individual coaching for senior staff.

  • Online training for managers and supervisors.

  • Support for establishing workgroups and committees.

  • Support to navigate race, power, and polarization issues emerging during unionization.

  • Support for joint [union & management] training, debriefing, and communications.

  • Orientation to templates and guides available in the Resource Hub.

  • Participation in peer learning communities

FAQs

  • Yes. Organizations can participate at any stage of unionization, from just learning about the union to contract implementation and navigating challenges with an existing unit.

  • Amy Smoucha, from Listening Tree Consulting, directs the Learning Lab. She works with 6 consultants who all have experience in nonprofit unionization. Under Amy’s direction and mentorship, they are working with organization leaders to co-create a new paradigm for nonprofit unionization.

  • Learning Lab contracts generally start with an agreement for a certain number of hours [for example, 30-50 hours], and then invoice the organization monthly only for hours used already used. The fee is $325/per hour per consultant.

  • The work that consultants do with organizations is not direclty subsidized by grants. However, consultants receive ongoing training and mentoring and materials development from grant-supported work. The peer networks are also subsidized and free to clients.

  • Learning Lab consultants lead Peer Networks in a monthly online video meeting. Organization leaders who are in a similar stage of unionization and bargaining join the calls to learn with and from each other. The “Implementation Peer Network” has been meeting for almost a year. We are launching a second Network for successor contract bargaining in 2025