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Editor's note: This article was originally published on Steve Alquist's reader-supported Substack on October 08, 2024. It is reprinted here with his permission.
From a press release:
Frontline staff at Youth Pride, Inc. (YPI), a Providence-based non-profit that provides direct service, support, advocacy, and education to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, voted overwhelmingly on Friday, October 4th to ratify their first union contract with SEIU 1199 New England.
They first voted to form their union back in February 2024, joining the 5,000 healthcare and service workers in Rhode Island and 29,000 total in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Southeastern Massachusetts that makeup SEIU 1199 New England.
In their new union contract, Youth Pride Inc. frontline staff were able to achieve the following:
The 1199 Training and Upgrading Fund: a multi-employer benefit fund that supports career advancement through direct programming and reimbursement for tuition, training, and educational supply costs. This benefit will help to provide stability and career advancement for YPI union members.
Gender-affirming care leave (first in SEIU 1199NE in Rhode Island): one week paid and 13 weeks unpaid.
Labor management meetings to allow staff to voice concerns and have input in workplace policies.
The right to just cause, enhancing job security and protection against unfair termination.
“We are incredibly proud of what we won in our new contract that we had to fight every step of the way to achieve,” said Aileen Feliz, Center Coordinator. “Our new training fund presents an amazing opportunity for frontline staff to access educational advancement that may have been economically out of reach before. Just cause is such a big win, especially in a non-profit, because it takes away the ability of management to fire someone at will. Finally, I am so proud we were able to win gender affirming care which sets an important precedent and an example for other organizations to offer their employees.”
Since its inception in 1992, YPI has evolved into a vital community resource that provides a safe nurturing environment for LGBTQ+ youth through its group and counseling services, a pantry program that serves over 700 youth as well as offering housing assistance and a lending library. The need for its services is great. 28% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives; 58% reported experiencing symptoms of depression, 73% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing anxiety and LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (stats from The Trevor Project).
For frontline staff, many of whom utilized YPI services as youth, the work is deeply personal as they understand its lifesaving impact. Increasingly, however, staff felt they lacked a clear discourse with management to address issues and that wages did not reflect the rising cost of living and the extent of their work responsibilities.
“Youth Pride was a lifeline to me as a youth with an unstable home situation and a parent who did not approve of my identity. It allowed me to connect with a queer network in Providence and significantly raised my quality of life,” continued Aileen Feliz, “We decided to form our union as a way to bring back the agency of the youth we serve. Now that we have a contract, we can continue building on our progress to create a healthier work dynamic with better communication and mutual respect, which gives us the chance to advocate even more effectively for YPI youth and refocus on the life-saving work we do every day.”
See previous coverage by Steve Ahlquist of YPI staff's organizing efforts here:
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