More Perfect Union is a progressive non-profit news media organization founded in February 2021 by

Faiz Shakir Faiz Shakir (; ) is an American Democratic political advisor. He serves as senior advisor to Bernie Sanders and executive director of the nonprofit media organization More Perfect Union. Previously, he was campaign manager for Bernie Sanders' ...

. 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 Corporate Accountability (formerly INFACT, Corporate Accountability International) is a non-profit organization, founded in 1977. Their campaign headquarters are in Boston, Massachusetts, and they have offices in Oakland, California; Seattle, Washi ...

. It received the

Sidney Award The Sidney Hillman Foundation is an American charitable foundation that awards prizes to journalists who investigate issues related to social justice and progressive public policy. The foundation, founded in 1946, is named for Sidney Hillman, who w ...

in 2021 for coverage of the Frito-Lay strike, and its explainer series ''The Class Room'' won a

Hillman Prize The Sidney Hillman Foundation is an American charitable foundation that awards prizes to journalists who investigate issues related to social justice and progressive public policy. The foundation, founded in 1946, is named for Sidney Hillman, who w ...

in 2023 for opinion journalism. In June 2025, More Perfect Union won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis.

Activities

Snack company strikes

In August 2021, More Perfect Union won the

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 forced 7-day workweeks and so-called 'suicide shifts', which gave workers only 8 hours of break between shifts." Also in August 2021, More Perfect Union confirmed with actor

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

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." The news spread widely and contributed to DeVito and his rallying cry becoming popular labor memes.

The Class Room

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 The Prager University Foundation, known as PragerU, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy group and media organization that creates content promoting conservative and capitalist viewpoints on various political, economic, and sociological ...

, a YouTube titan of right-wing ideology," the ''New York Times'' reported. In 2023, "The Class Room" was awarded the

for Opinion and Analysis.

Political coverage

In 2023, the outlet released footage of President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

meeting union organizers and reported on his appearance at a United Auto Workers picket line, noting that the organization played a coordinating role.

Organization and leadership

More Perfect Union is led by Faiz Shakir. As of 2023, the organization had approximately 28 full-time employees.

Funding

More Perfect Union is funded by philanthropic donors and does not accept contributions from corporations or labor unions. Reported donors include the

Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

, the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, and entities linked to

Pierre Omidyar Pierre Morad Omidyar (born Parviz Morad Omidyar, June 21, 1967) is a French-born Iranian-American billionaire and the grandson of General Mahmud Mir-Djalali. A technology entrepreneur, software engineer, and philanthropist, he is the foun ...

Reception

More Perfect Union is recognized as part of the progressive digital media landscape.

References

{{reflist Labor journalism Labor movement in the United States 2021 establishments in the United States News media in the United States American news websites Internet properties established in 2021 Investigative journalism Alternative journalism organizations Progressivism in the United States