Most of the unionized staff at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has issued a vote of no confidence in CEO Margaret Huang, prompting a demand for her removal from the organization. The SPLC Union, affiliated with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, cited a series of issues, including conflicting justifications for recent layoffs, legal liabilities, and a disregard for the organization’s mission.

The vote, which took place on Aug. 30, revealed that 92% of the participating union members expressed a lack of confidence in Huang’s leadership and urged the SPLC Board of Directors to seek a new CEO.

In response to the union’s request, Board Chair Karen Baynes-Dunning sent an email on Sept. 6, reiterating the board’s support for Huang, stating that it unanimously approved her leadership direction. This response has been criticized for its lack of engagement with union concerns, especially given the results from internal surveys indicating a growing distrust in SPLC leadership.

Lisa Wright, the chair of the SPLC Union and a long-serving member of the organization, highlighted significant inconsistencies in Huang’s communication regarding layoffs. 

“We believe Baynes-Dunning hired Huang in 2020 to bust our Union,” Wright said. “The layoffs have been riddled with inconsistencies, errors, and confusion.”

SPLC laid off 78 workers on June 12, gutting a quarter of its workforce and dismantling programs that work directly with incarcerated immigrants. Among those dismissed were 61 union members and more than 20 supervisors, many of whom are people of color actively working in the Deep South—a region historically fraught with racial tensions and inequalities.

“From the start, the Board’s lack of engagement with our Union has made them complacent and complicit in all harm Huang and her leadership team create,” Wright said. “Huang has a proven track record of hostility toward unionization.”

Wright also accused Huang of misrepresenting the financial rationale behind the layoffs to different boards, calling into question the integrity of the leadership. According to Wright, union members learned Huang provided conflicting explanations about the layoffs to different groups within the organization. She reportedly told the 501(c)(4) board (social welfare group) that layoffs were necessary due to a $13 million deficit in the charity’s budget. However, she told the board and union that layoffs were not financially motivated.

“Huang either lied to our Union and the (c)(3) Board, or she lied to the (c)(4) Board,” Wright said.

The union has voiced strong concerns over the impact of these layoffs on SPLC’s ongoing work, particularly in immigration efforts, where more than 50 employees were let go without a clear plan for maintaining existing partnerships.

The layoffs targeted key programs, including the Immigrant Justice Project, the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI), and significant portions of the Learning for Justice program. These programs are recognized for their critical roles in supporting marginalized communities, particularly in combating systemic injustices in the Deep South. The SIFI program, for instance, established in 2017 amid heightened anti-immigrant actions during the Trump administration, aimed to provide vital legal representation to immigrants detained in Georgia. 

In light of these issues, SPLC Union Officers have laid out several demands for the Board of Directors: to remove Huang as CEO, to negotiate the reversal of layoffs for affected staff, and to include the union in the process of selecting a new CEO. They argue that Huang’s leadership has not only misled various stakeholders but also alienated staff and exposed the organization to potential legal risks.

The SPLC Union says that as it works to uphold its mission of disrupting white supremacy and pursuing equity, it is calling for a shift towards more responsible and accountable leadership that aligns with the organization’s core values.