Originally published in the Winter/Spring 2025 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 76, printed March 26. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Winter/Spring 2025 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

By Kat McNeal

Workers at Richmond’s Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden have become the second- ever group of botanical garden workers in the country to unionize. On Nov. 21, they voted to be represented by the International Association of Machinists.

Earlier, in June 2024, workers at the Portland Japanese Garden in Oregon were the first to organize a workplace of this type, joining the Laborers International Union of North America.

The Virginia Defender spoke with Lewis Ginter workers Clare Reimes, a conservatory horticulturist, and Eryn Boyle, an assistant horticulturist, about why they decided to go union – and how they did it.

The Lewis Ginter union includes all nonsupervisory workers – 69 people across multiple departments. Boyle said there are plans to survey members to determine priorities for negotiating their first contract, but pay is a primary issue. Wages at the garden start $15 an hour. Also, not all uniform components are provided, and these can be expensive.

When the LGBG workers decided they needed to organize, they weren’t sure where to start. So last June they did some online research and found a local chapter of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee.

EWOC is a joint project of the Democratic Socialists of America and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. It offers training sessions and connects workers with volunteer organizers.

“EWOC really helped us understandwhat exactly [unionizing] entailed and how to go about it in a legal and professional way,” Boyle said.

By August, the core organizing committee had received training, and an introduction to IAM. In November, they won their union election with 74% of the vote.

Reimes said they know the negotiation process will involve compromise, but the ability to negotiate a contract at all is a win for the workforce.

“For me, what’s most important is to have the opportunity to have a voice on things,” she said.