Mission Statement

Our mission is to represent and empower all locally employed workers of the Goethe-Institut USA. Our unique knowledge of the American cultural landscape and long-lasting relationships with local partners enable the Goethe-Institut to pursue its mission of international exchange and transatlantic dialogue in the United States.

We believe that all workers of the Goethe-Institut USA have the right to a voice in their workplace, whether they have been with the Goethe-Institut for 3 weeks or 30 years. Through collective bargaining, we seek to improve the working conditions, wages, benefits, and professional development opportunities for all workers.

We are committed to building strong relationships with our colleagues, management, and the broader community. Only through open dialogue and transparent exchange can we create an equitable workplace where every worker is treated with respect and dignity.

AbouT US

The Goethe-Institut is Germany’s cultural institute, promoting knowledge of the German language abroad and fostering international cultural exchange and dialogue. The Goethe-Institut maintains a network of 158 institutes in 98 countries. There are currently 6 offices in the United States: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and the regional headquarters in Washington, DC.

Founded in 2023

In 2022, shortly before finalizing and implementing the new general employment conditions, the Goethe-Institut USA had to dismantle its longstanding practice of allowing locally employed workers to elect staff representatives for the purposes of negotiating with the regional management and communicating employee issues to the head office in Germany.

With no other way for staff to be represented, the workers of Goethe-Institut USA decided to form the Goethe Union in 2023.

It should be noted that management hired under German working conditions enjoy the benefits of representation by the GEW union in Germany.

Current Status

On March 29, 2023 the Goethe Union filed their petition with the National Labor Relations Board and requested voluntary recognition from the regional management team at the Goethe-Institut’s USA headquarters in Washington DC. On April 05, the NLRB posted a notice of petition for election.

On May 24, 2023 the NLRB certified the election results with an overwhelming majority of employees voting “yes” to form a union and be represented by the WBNG.

Part of wbng

The Goethe Union is part of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which represents more than 2,500 news, information, nonprofit and labor organization workers in the mid-Atlantic and beyond.