"🚨 WORKER REVOLT! — OBAMA FOUNDATION EMPLOYEES SEEK TO UNIONIZE AMID MASSIVE PAY AND BENEFIT COMPLAINTS!"
Former President Barack Obama is facing a new challenge that many on the right see as sweet irony.
Employees at the Obama Foundation are pushing to unionize amid complaints about rising workloads and reduced benefits, while newly reported financial records show substantial compensation for top executives, including CEO Valerie Jarrett.
The Obama Foundation reported 172 employees earning more than $100,000 in its 2025 tax filing, representing roughly half of the 342 employees listed for that year, according to a review of the nonprofit’s financial records.
Jarrett, a longtime Obama adviser who has led the foundation since 2021, received approximately $771,000 in total compensation, including nearly $755,000 in salary, an increase from the previous year.
Executive Vice President Robbin Cohen received approximately $666,000, while former Michelle Obama chief of staff Christina Tchen received about $431,000 and former Obama White House aide Michael Strautmanis received approximately $404,000.
The compensation figures have drawn additional attention because employees of the foundation and recently opened Obama Presidential Center are simultaneously organizing with AFSCME Council 31.
Sixty-eight employees signed an open letter announcing the organizing effort earlier this month, with organizers seeking to represent more than 250 workers in Chicago, Washington and remote positions around the country.
The employees include visitor-services personnel, museum and technology workers, custodians and staff involved in the foundation’s educational and international programs.
Workers said they remain committed to the foundation’s mission but argued that workplace conditions have deteriorated as responsibilities have increased.
“Amidst increasing workloads we have seen our benefits rolled back,” employees wrote in their organizing letter, while also alleging insufficient support from foundation leadership.
Workers said staff departures have resulted in the loss of experienced colleagues and institutional knowledge while increasing responsibilities for employees who remain.
The organizing effort also invokes Obama’s longstanding public support for organized labor, with employees asking foundation leadership to voluntarily recognize their union and avoid spending resources on anti-union consultants, lawyers or meetings.
The foundation says it supports the employees’ right to organize and has publicly signaled that it intends to work cooperatively with the union effort.
“We are deeply committed to the fundamental right of workers to organize,” the foundation said, adding that it respects organized labor and intends to work collaboratively during the process.
The foundation has also defended its compensation practices, arguing that salaries are set at levels necessary to attract qualified employees in a competitive labor market.
A foundation spokesperson said its board uses compensation consultants and comparative market data annually when determining salaries for its chief executive, officers and other key employees.
Ohio State University accounting professor Brian Mittendorf, who specializes in nonprofit finances, told Fox News Digital that the percentage of foundation employees earning six figures was higher than at a typical nonprofit but noted that the organization employs significant numbers of specialized workers.
The foundation’s payroll and benefits expenses have expanded substantially as the organization grew, increasing from $18.5 million in 2018 to $50.4 million in 2025.
The organization reported approximately $159 million in revenue during 2025, including nearly $151 million from contributions and grants, while ending the year with net assets exceeding $1 billion.
Jarrett’s compensation also exceeded the reported pay of top executives at several other presidential organizations examined by Fox, including the Carter Center, George W. Bush Presidential Center, Clinton Foundation and George & Barbara Bush Foundation.
The Reagan Foundation’s chief executive received approximately $735,000, compared with about $661,000 for the George W. Bush Presidential Center’s top officer and roughly $425,000 at the Clinton Foundation, although the organizations differ substantially in size, operations and reporting periods.
The labor dispute arrives only months after the Obama Presidential Center opened on Chicago’s South Side following years of construction and fundraising.
The foundation says more than 500 people now work for the organization worldwide, including roughly 300 based at the Presidential Center, meaning the current workforce is substantially larger than the 342 employees reflected in the 2025 tax filing.
Union organizers say their immediate goal is gaining a formal voice over workplace issues including compensation, health care, paid time off and working conditions.
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The organizing drive now puts an institution closely associated with a former Democratic president and longtime supporter of organized labor in the position of negotiating directly with employees seeking union representation.
