As negotiations stall, unionized Youth Pride Inc workers need your support

"Unionizing is not scary. It's just people who are already doing the work having a voice..."

Steve Ahlquist: I appreciate you letting me in on this story and providing this update. Since we last talked about this, sometime in February, what's been going on?

Sy Bedrick: I think that your dedication to reporting our story has helped us let the community know what we're going through and why we're doing this. I know that your last story with us put you through it a little bit.

[Note: After covering a Black Lives Matter event where workers at Youth Pride Inc. (YPI) Jess Peters criticized my story as being one-sided, calling it “a biased hit job” on Facebook. I tried to engage with Peters honestly, only to find out after the fact that Jess Peters sometimes works at YPI and is engaged to Andy Taubman, Director of Youth Services at YPI. In their comments Peters claimed that YPI workers made claims that were “distortions at best and disinformation at worst” but provided no evidence for this claim.]¹

Steve Ahlquist: When I get criticism from people I take it seriously because I want to double-check myself. In my heart, I was like, “I think they are being unreasonable,” but I wasn't sure. I checked with friends and family who suggested I was being gaslit. Then, when somebody told me who the person was and what their relationship to the story was, I understood they were coming from a place of defending a loved one.

Alright, let's get into it. Since we last talked, what's been going on? Last I heard, since unionization efforts began, Nubia Gomez and Sy Bedrick had their employment terminated, and the union maintains it is because of their unionization efforts and therefore illegal.

Mary-Murphy Walsh, SEIU Union Organizer: I want the members to lead this, but in terms of what has transpired since we last talked, timeline-wise, we've had four negotiation sessions. We have started engaging with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) agent about the unfair labor practices charges we filed for the illegal activity of retaliation against the workers who were leading unionization efforts. Since then, we have seen several additional behaviors from the employer which we are raising as Unfair Labor Practices and we are working to integrate those into the original charges. There has been continuing harassment and bullying at work and within the community from the employer.

Gigi Hill: One thing that I've been seeing a lot of, since before we even filed our petition, is a reluctance or outright refusal to relinquish any power or control over the organization. That has been frustrating. We are trying to reshape this organization through the process of unionizing - to make the organization better, initiate a level playing field, [and form] a partnership between us, as the frontline staff, and management. I feel like every step of the way there's been strong resistance to our input, experience, and the things that we're hearing from youth.

Sy Bedrick: I'm from New York originally. I moved here in 2020 and I knew what Youth Pride was before I moved to Providence. I was learning about Providence because my wife has family here and we were thinking about moving here eventually. Because I'm queer, I love the queer community, and I want to always be involved in the queer community, one of the first organizations that came up in my looking around the Providence scene was Youth Pride.

Youth Pride has been around for more than 30 years and grew out of a need for a unified community. YPI supports marginalized people and was transgressive because it came about at a time when queer people were less supported. We're still fighting for support, recognition, and fair laws and safety, but the queer community was even more underground at the time. Youth Pride was a space where people could come to be themselves and find people who had similar experiences to them. And that's a radical thing.

This administration, in my experience, is making choices and wielding power in a way that works against the legacy of the organization and in a way that harms the mission and the important work that the organization is doing and has done for more than three decades. It's so clear to me that Providence and Greater Rhode Island are desperately in need of this organization. I've seen firsthand, and I know my colleagues have seen this, that this organization is saving lives and will continue to. That's where we're coming from when doing the work that we're doing - because we all see the impact.

When Youth Pride is led in a way that doesn't put trust and representation into the hands of the people who are working directly with the population and consistently delivering the services day to day, it takes away the power and representation from the people that we're serving.

Aileen Feliz: I've been on both ends of the organization. I grew up going to YPI as a teenager almost every day. It's been heartbreaking to see what the organization is going through right now. I feel the youth who go there right now aren't getting the full experience of YPI due to management's unwillingness to relinquish power. It's been tough seeing how I was able to get leadership opportunities within YPI and be able to grow as an activist within YPI.

When I was going there as a youth, the youth were centered. That's not the case anymore. The youth are not centered in the organization. They have no decision-making power, although the website says that YPI is committed to creating the leadership of today and driving youth voices. That's not what's happening in the organization right now. A large part of why I wanted to unionize, apart from having solidarity with my coworkers, was so that I could bring that change to YPI and work with management to bring it back to a place where youth are centered and the ones that are most prominently being listened to. That's not the case anymore and it's been heartbreaking. It's been affecting the youth every single day that they don't have that.

Sy Bedrick: I'm no longer an employee. My internship, doing case management through my MSW [Masters of Social Work] program that Youth Pride agreed to host for a year was terminated. When we went into bargaining I tried to escalate that to the board of YPI for several months via email and it was pretty much ignored. There was one email from the board chair who said that we're going to deal with that in bargaining, so I'm not going to address it. When we did try to deal with it in bargaining, for a minute there the executive director said, “We have a path forward with your internship. I'm going to try to get it back. I have to talk to some people about it. Let's check in.” The next day they came back and said, in a word, “No.” We made our final decision about it, Andy's not willing to work with you.

I deeply appreciate the union taking my issue seriously. We all care about each other and our contributions to the team, and I felt cared for and valued by my union members.

Halfway through the semester, the 240 hours that I needed to complete for my internship had been condensed into seven weeks rather than 14. I'm doing 32 hours a week of internship at another organization that was kind enough to take me in. But that schedule is not compatible with the 25 hours a week I was doing at Youth Pride, in addition to school plus being disabled. I had one day to say goodbye to the youth at YPI when I got the final decision from management. That day was incredibly painful for me, my fellow staff members, and the youth. My fellow staff members and I spent that entire day comforting sobbing youth who were distraught that I had to leave. Unfortunately, because of the way management put that decision off for so long, I only had one day to let them know that I had to leave and to say goodbye.

There are a lot of things that happened that day that I will never forget. Some youth were saying that there are people who aren't going to come here if I'm not here. And while this was happening, we were still providing lifesaving services. We were helping homeless youth make sure they had shelter for the night while we were being treated with disrespect and dismissal by our management.

Aileen Feliz: After Sy's dismissal by management, they banned Sy from entering the center again. So Sy can't even volunteer. There was no closure for the youth. Sy was the most senior center coordinator there, having worked there for almost two years.

A lot of youth have grown with Sy as center coordinator and now they're not able to ever see them again within the center because management decided to ban Sy from the center, for no reason. Other former employees come through the center all the time. It's been hard to explain to the youth that Sy had to leave and that Sy can't volunteer. They ask for Sy every day. I believe it is an extremely selfish decision on management's part.

Mary-Murphy Walsh: Aileen said for seemingly no reason. It's very inconsistent with how other staff has been treated upon exit, but the named reason was “ethics.” We are alleging that ending Sy's internship was illegal retaliation for unionizing, and management has given no other reason except that Andy has “ethical” reasons for not wanting to continue Sy’s internship.

If you go on The Trevor Project and look at the staggering statistics - when we say lifesaving work, it truly is. The number one combatant to the high rates of suicidality in LGBTQ+ youth is having just one trusted relationship with an adult who affirms and sees them for who they are and who provides safety and mentorship. That is who Sy and Nubia were for countless youth at YPI before they were terminated out of retaliation for trying to have a voice within the organization they love. Where is the ethics in that? Gigi, Sy, Aileen - Do you want to speak to the data around what having relationships like these members have with youth means in terms of combating the extremely high level of suicidality we see in LGBTQ youth?

Gigi Hill: I think a lot about our connections with the youth. When you're there for two years, you forge connections with people and you build trust. It can be hard for youth to share vulnerable information that might lead to hospitalization - and they know that if they say things that we are mandated to report, it might land them in an uncomfortable spot, but they'll be safer. The fact that they feel safe enough with us to share that they're not doing well or that they're doing great and have exciting things like learning opportunities coming up, that's what we get to hear every day.

One of our youth is looking into esthetician school and has been touring. The time and effort that it takes to put care into the relationships we're building has not been recognized. The undervaluing of care work as a phenomenon in this field is so bizarre to me because you can't deny the numbers of it.

The feeling of going to work every day and waiting for the youth to get there and then, when the youth get there, my day picks up. A lot of times I go in stressed and worried - is there going to be some new thing that I have to take on, some new task that's thrust onto my plate? I can take care of that as long as it doesn't take from my time with the youth. That's something I've been struggling with in terms of balancing all of the administrative and logistical responsibilities we have with my commitment to be there actively and presently with our youth because it is in those moments, that care, trust, and connections are formed. If I'm stuck behind my computer all day, I can't do that.

Steve Ahlquist: This makes sense to me and fits into a lot of the other reporting I do where people working in care jobs are being overly managed or the management becomes the issue. I mean, talk to any doctors and nurses about filling out paperwork all day and not being able to see patients. The primacy of management in these relationships ruins the ability, many times, to provide quality care. The fact that you're able to squeeze that out during the day and still do the real work is a testament to your dedication. It is important, lifesaving work. Thank you.

Sy Bedrick: We went through a training that was hosted at Youth Pride on preventing youth suicidality. The thing that sticks with me is that the number one protective factor for preventing youth suicide is having one safe adult the youth can trust and talk to.

For LGBTQ kids that doesn't come from home a lot of times, and even if they're not LGBTQ, being a teenager is hard. It's a time in your development when you pull away from your parents, change your worldview, and readjust who you go to for support. For some kids, there's a teacher they feel safe with. And I'm a hundred percent certain, based on the number of times that I have stayed late at YPI with a youth who was going through suicidal ideation and mental health crisis, that we are those people for a lot of youth.

When Nubia was fired, some youths stopped coming to the center. One of the things I said to every kid on my last day was please keep coming here. I was heartbroken to be leaving, but I knew that my coworkers, Aileen, Gigi, and Zoe, were some of the best people for these kids to be coming to for support. I knew that they were capable, trustworthy, kind, and incredibly thoughtful - and I knew that some of these kids might consider not coming back because they told me that. They told me that they might not come if I wasn't there. And all I wanted in leaving was for them to not lose this resource.

Steve Ahlquist: This is pretty heavy. Can I ask what it looks like for the community to rally behind you? What would you like to see the community do?

Sy Bedrick: So something that has already occurred, which I feel is exciting is that for 401 Gives the union decided to fundraise for Youth Pride. The platform of 401 Gives allows people to sign up as fundraisers for organizations so the unionized workers did that. We spent a couple of weeks putting out social media updates and rallying the community to support Youth Pride through us because one, we care about the organization and want it to be financially supported, and two, the donations through us show community support of the unionizing work that we're doing. In just two days of fundraising, we were able to raise $345. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it was a very short period and we are a bunch of workers who don't have a lot of connections with fancy rich people yet we ended up being the number one individual fundraiser for Youth Pride through that program.

I would encourage anyone who wants to continue in that spirit, to send a donation to Youth Pride through their PayPal and add a comment. You can say something about Union Solidarity. You can send us a screenshot of it if you want us to share that you did that. We have a union Instagram, which is YPI_Union.

And we have a petition out, something we held off for a long time. We spent several months and lost several staff members trying to work with management in an amicable, supportive way, trying to come to a place where we were working together as a team, and through all that we've seen impacts on staff and youth from their actions. The next thing that we think is the most responsible step for protecting this important institution and the community it serves is a petition of no confidence in the management.

Mary-Murphy Walsh: Youth Pride has been, for so many years, an institution within theLGBTQ+ community. Providence is proud and we have so many influential queer members of the community that we need to sign this petition and say what the workers are saying, “Make Youth Pride be what Youth Pride should be for staff who are giving their time and labor to the mission of the organization.”

We have more queer members of the General Assembly than ever before. We are hoping that many of the funders that Youth Pride relies on are going to put their name in the game and help us leverage some progress. We already have signatures in solidarity with the workers on the No Confidence petition from over a hundred members and allies of the queer community in Rhode Island, including many healthcare professionals, Providence Council City Members, the Council President, members of the General Assembly, and more.

Steve Ahlquist: I believe that the Providence City Council has come out in support.

Sy Bedrick: We have a signature from Councilmember Miguel Sanchez, who also led the passage of a city council resolution on our behalf supporting our unionizing and the work we do. And Rachel Miller, who is our City’s first openly queer City Council President, has been incredibly supportive.

Sy Bedrick: We will be starting to ask even more folks today to sign the petition and circulate it widely.

The Providence community cares so much so when they see an opportunity to take action and get involved, they act on it. Part of the work that we're doing as a union is to give people opportunities to get involved in the organization and have a say over how things go.

Gigi Hill: Something I've been thinking about a lot is how small, tight-knit, and steeped in care Providence has been feeling to me. It would be great to see other organizations behind us that know that the work that we do is important. Having communal support would help keep me going a little longer. Not that I'm running out of steam anytime soon. Every day I show up for our youth

Aileen Feliz: It took us a while to get to this point with a petition of no-confidence because we've been trying to work with our management. But there has been resistance to relinquish control and see us as equals at the bargaining table. Management and the board don't see us as equals. A petition of no-confidence might seem like a big step, but they have fired employees who have been vital to the work, and that has directly affected youth. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Their decision-making processes have been erratic and it has negatively impacted the work we do every day. They have not changed any of their behavior, even though they have been told to. They are aware that what they're doing has been impacting the work we're doing and they have continued. I feel as though they're acting in their best interest instead of upholding the staff members and the youth who come into the center.

As someone who had gone to YPI as a youth, it is extremely concerning. I've worked in non-profits for six years now, starting in high school, and every time I have seen someone in power not want to relinquish control, it has always affected the work.

It's concerning to me that the board hasn't talked to us about this at all. In the nonprofit structure, the board is a check and balance for the executive director and the directors of the space. It's concerning that it feels like we don't have checks and balances for management’s behavior. That's why we're going to escalate with the petition of no confidence because we have no choice but to do so. The bargaining unit feels that the only way that we can get our voices to be heard by the organization and the board and be able to make them acknowledge that they have been impacting the work we're doing because they have yet to do that, they have yet to acknowledge any of their behavior.

It is one of the only ways that we'll be able to get to a point where we can have conversations without any of the pettiness, power imbalance, or power struggle. It feels like a power struggle right now and we are trying to get YPI back to the point where the youth are the ones that are centered and have the decision-making power within the center because Youth Pride is for the youth, and it should be built by the youth.

I've worked in youth-centric nonprofits for my entire career, they're everywhere here in Providence and I have worked in a lot of them. My work has always centered on giving the youth their power, especially because nonprofits have a very harmful history and the systems of nonprofits are rooted in white supremacy. It affects the youth they serve in a way that takes away their agency, especially because of the funding model of nonprofits.

My work is centered on giving agency back to youth in youth-centric nonprofits because if you're serving youth, the youth should have a voice. That's the point I have been trying to make during my entire time at YPI.

At the point when I was going to YPI as a teenager a couple of years back, the main goal of YPI was to have the youth be the ones directing what's happening in the space. I remember that so clearly. The center coordinators, administration, and management at the time respected that. I'm not saying it was perfect, there were problems - but the fact that management, staff, and the administration respected that YPI is a youth organization that needs to be built by the youth that goes there uplifted a lot of people, including me. They were following the mission and values of the organization, which is not happening anymore.

Sy Bedrick: The code of ethics for the National Association of Social Workers guides us to treat clients with care and respect - specifically in ways that promote their self-determination and in ways that support their capacity to address their own needs and have power in directing their care. A common approach to social work is client-centered, which means that the way that you work with your client should be guided by what that client desires, believes in, and wants to focus on with you. That's the ethical aspect of the direction that the union is trying to go in because a lot of the work that we do is social work-related or adjacent - or is just social work. The clients we're serving deserve that voice and agency.

I also want to illustrate how far we have fallen from where we started in bargaining and how generous we tried to be with management. One of our first offers on the table was that - if they undo the unfair labor practices, make Sy and Nubia whole, and bring them back on board in the way they were before the actions that occurred immediately after we filed to unionize - the union would drop the lawsuits making their way through the Labor Board. In addition to that, we offered to release a joint statement with management and let the community know that we were working together amicably and in good faith for the good of the organization. We were like, “Here's this wrapped-up gift. We want to work with you. We want to be a team together. Let's wipe the slate clean, start from scratch, give people the jobs that you took away, drop the lawsuits, and tell the public that we're hand in hand in this work.”

Unfortunately, management decided to let those lawsuits continue because they were not willing to bargain on that. That is one of the major concerns we have for the well-being of the organization - because lawsuits with the Labor Board are expensive. But we have to hold the management accountable because this can't keep happening to staff. We can't let future staff be treated this way. The choice to not work with us on this issue is having an impact on the organization and is coming from a place of pride.

Mary-Murphy Walsh: This entire experience has just been so sad. There are times when we're bargaining at the table at Youth Pride, in the center where all of this work is done, and management is so aggressive in their demeanor. I've seen the members on this call and other members of the Bargaining Committee quietly but powerfully hold each other's hands and just be there for each other.

What's happening is nothing to be proud of. They have not kept this conflict at the bargaining table. They have, as you have seen, brought it onto social media, they've brought it into the nonprofit sector, and they’ve brought it into what are supposed to be joyful and safe spaces in the queer community. What we need is for everyone in the community to push back on this type of activity. Youth Pride and the Pride movement were created to combat the unsafe and dark places that queer people used to live in. And it has felt very dark going into those bargaining sessions. When we walk into Youth Pride it has not felt like it did when I was a kid going to Providence and to go to Youth Pride. It was amazing then.

But to sit there and feel how it feels right now is mind-boggling. One of our next steps is to try and bring the spirit of pride back into this situation we're in. So we are organizing, and Sy has been leading this, a drag show. It'll be held at Moniker Brewery in May.

Moniker and SEIU 1199NE present: 

“No One Owns Drag”

A Drag and Fundraiser for The Youth Pride Union 

Saturday, May 11 2024 | 1 PM (Rain date, May 12)

Sy Bedrick: It's going to be a fundraiser to support the union members, both for those of us who've been negatively impacted by the actions of management and maybe save a little for eventualities - because we just never know what's coming next from this leadership team. I want to make sure that members of our union are protected and have a little financial support to lean on for whatever happens. None of us are making a lot of money, so we don't have a lot to fall back on. I want to make sure these young activists are eating.

We're hoping that this can reinvoke the spirit of Providence Pride, celebrate the work that these members do, and bring joy back into the struggle to serve these youth.

Gigi Hill: I want to talk about why I got emotional a moment ago. I was having a whole lot of feelings when Murph was describing us holding hands at the bargaining table. Those were huge moments for me. The care we show each other makes me incredibly proud to be working with the people that I work with.

Since Sy and Nubia were dismissed, they're not around anymore. We've already talked about what the impact has been, but a lot of the labor they were doing has fallen to the rest of the staff. We are down two sets of hands and that means we have to take on more. Aileen and I are taking on more of the administrative stuff and trying to figure out what we can manage. That's been weighing on me in a way perceivable to the youth. I am professional, but I'm not going to be dishonest with them about the fact that I am stressed. They are emotionally intelligent people and are tuned in to our energies. I get daily affirmations from the youth who might not have a complete vision or understanding of what is going on.

They say, “You're doing a good job” and that hits hard because that kind of affirmation does not usually come from management. The way this has been weighing on me is impacting them. I have no way of knowing if they see me being consumed with the tasks that I have to balance or if they feel like, “I don't want to bother Gigi with this right now.” I'm thinking about that all the time. I said earlier that when the youth get there my day picks up. I want to be able to go to work every day and not have this feeling of the weight and pressure from management to be perfect everywhere all the time, finish all the things, and not focus on the youth.

I want to be able to go to work and know that I can be joyful that I'm there and can be joyful that I'm going to be there and that the youth are going to be there. I want to be able to be joyful when I'm in the space. That's something that the petition is going to help us move towards.

I'm also thinking, Steve, about something you said earlier - that this is all heavy, and that's what I'm trying to get at here - the presence of intensity in the space, no matter how much we smile or giggle or have silly times, the youth feel that in ways that are hard to describe outside of their checking in with us. That they are also feeling our care for them is a testament to what the organization is as a space where we care for each other in such a communal sense.

Coming back also to how staff have been disrespected, disregarded, and ultimately dismissed - that is another piece of the things pushing down on me. I worry every day that I missed something and that if something isn't perfect - if I slip up - I won't get to do this work anymore because of a flippant decision. By escalating, by pulling in more communal support through the petition and the drag show, I'm hoping that we can work against that - because it's hard to do that by ourselves in the space every day. As good as we are at holding each other up, it doesn't get any less exhausting.

Sy Bedrick: Someone from management admitted that we have swaths of the community behind us. We're excited to give opportunities for folks to show up with the care that they've been holding for us.

Aileen Feliz: We are regularly told by management that we're a resource. And it does feel as though we are a resource for the youth there because of the relationships we're building. But we regularly have to turn down quality time with the youth in the center because we have to get administrative work done. There have been several times when I've had to tell youth straight up, “I'm sorry, I can't play a game with you right now because I have to get my work done.”

A lot of the reason we unionized is because we felt as though our jobs weren't secure and our job security was in question because of management. It is anxiety-inducing when you're doing your work and feel as though you're doing it wrong because management can just decide to let you go. It's demoralizing as well This is stressful and heavy, and I want to recognize that it's also stressful and heavy for management. An example of this is that we've missed a couple of Queer Gourmets, which is a really popular program we have here at YPI, where we make food together as a community and eat food together as a community.

We have youth that come specifically for Queer Gourmet but we've had to miss that a couple of times because management forgot to get ingredients. Everyone makes mistakes and I want the grace to be able to make mistakes, but the difference here is that if we make any sort of mistakes, we're chastised, we're berated, and we are at risk of our jobs, but management can't be held accountable for their mistakes with our staff because they just don't allow that within the relationship. It's demoralizing when we have staff members who are constantly worrying about their job and worrying about needing to be perfect, but management isn't perfect and they are allowed to have that grace, but we're not. It has been hard going in to work every day, seeing as how we're not treated as being as important as they are to the organization.

It's disrespectful. Management doesn't see that I am an important aspect of the organization and how it runs every day, and that the work that I do every single day is important. They have treated us as though we are replaceable. We're building relationships with these youth - for suicide prevention and to be mentors. If you are changing the center coordinators almost every year, then youth aren't able to build relationships with the staff. When I was going there as a youth, the center coordinators had been there for 5-10 years. They were able to see me grow up. To this day, I still talk to them. The ability to build a relationship for that long is something special that Youth Pride is unique for.

Mary-Murphy Walsh: Youth are vulnerable to the consequences of not having a space like this - a place to come, grow, and build lasting relationships - that is the gateway into what we see as Providence's strong, proud pride community. The relationships and the care aspect is the work that should always be prioritized and focused on. We haven't seen that with this administration.

I didn't know any of these amazing individuals before they decided to unionize, but what they've told me is that shift in focus to hyper-micromanaging and the focus on tasks and duties and being able to point fingers at who did or did not sweep the floor type of attitude has only exacerbated the targets they've put on everyone's back since unionizing, the targets that fired Sy and Nubia.

When you hear Gigi and Aileen say, “We have to do everything perfectly,” it's because they still have targets on their backs. We saw that right after the election - every single employee who was still working, including Sy at the time, got disciplined for forgetting to move a dinky table to the garbage. That was prioritized over these important interactions and contributions to the well-being of the youth they serve and as a means of retaliation and control.

Steve Ahlquist: What I see is not irony, but a tragedy. YPI works to empower youth, and then as soon as youth graduate out of that program and enter the real world and maybe come to work for YPI, the institution immediately devalues them as just another replaceable worker. How is that in keeping with the mission of YPI?

Mary-Murphy Walsh: Not just devaluing them and treating them as disposable workers. They're slandering these folks on social media, saying falsehoods to the community, and seemingly trying to eradicate any space for them in the community that Youth Pride is positioned to develop.

Sy Bedrick: I think all of us who come to this work have strong beliefs that people who dedicate their time to mission-driven organizations deserve job security. That's integral to the success of those organizations. Unfortunately, the status quo of workers in this country is at will, which means that you can be fired for no reason at any time by your employer. That's something we're working to change. We are asking for just cause for the discipline and terminations as a part of the contract that we're bargaining for. That's something we believe in - that people across the non-profit sector and the country deserve. And that's a future that we want the youth that we serve now to come to.

I know many youth come to Youth Pride and they're inspired by the work, they're excited by the community, and they want to stay involved. There's a dearth of organizations that serve adult LGBTQ communities, so an opportunity to stay connected and join the work of Youth Pride is important. We want those youth who graduate to those positions and get into this organization to come to a place where they're safe, valued, and assured that if they mess up or do something wrong, there will be a proper process. There will be attention paid to each side of the story and an attempt to mediate and address issues before they're disposed of.

Gigi Hill: Where their experience, knowledge, and agency are honored.

Aileen Feliz: We're one of the first nonprofits to do this process of unionization. There's a larger conversation across the country about how nonprofit workers are being treated in the country, and how the nonprofit industrial complex is harming both the people they are serving and the people who work within the nonprofit sector. Going in, I expected the unionization process to go smoother than it has due to the YPI's mission and how YPI operates as a social justice organization. It surprised me how difficult this unionization process has been with management.

I don't want to discourage other people within the nonprofit sector from seeking the same level of accountability with management and the nonprofit sector that we are. I hope that we're able to pave the way for other nonprofits here in Providence and Rhode Island and across the nation to see that it is possible, despite being hard. It's possible to make a change within a sector that has been so upheld by white supremacy that it does not need to operate in the way it has been operating in the past.

Management had an opportunity to be leaders and be an example for other nonprofits and make a ripple within the nonprofit sector, to challenge the exploitation of the working class in nonprofits. They could have taken a step forward and been highlighted for change but didn't take the opportunity. As a union, we want to uplift other organizations that might want to do the same thing within the nonprofit sector. A lot of the problems we're facing today are common within nonprofits. It's a shame that although YPI has been a social justice organization and a cornerstone within activism here in Providence, we weren't able to do this a little bit more smoothly to be an example of how to do this with other nonprofits.

But even though we're struggling, it's still possible. We're still able to make a ripple effect in the nonprofit industrial complex.

Steve Ahlquist: The work you're doing in unionizing is in keeping with the work you're doing at YPI and it's amazing. Thank you.

Sy Bedrick: To folks who might be afraid of unionizing or their staff unionizing - you hired people because you trusted them and you thought that they were good people who would be a boon to your organization. Unionizing is not scary. It's just people who are already doing the work having a voice, and if you are working with people that you value and trust and believe in, then unionizing is merely coming together more collaboratively and having a structure for that collaboration.

Mary-Murphy Walsh: At the risk of sounding corny, unionizing is an act of love, especially when we're talking about the staff at Youth Pride. we're hoping that this is a story that echoes the sentiment of the organization, which is “Love Wins.”

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