Groden Center caregivers of children with autism make video announcement of next steps after bargaining breakdown
“None of us want to strike but we need management to take our concerns seriously and stop wasting our time at bargaining.”
From an SEIU 1199 press release:
Frontline caregivers at Groden Center, who provide essential services for children with autism, are announcing today that they will begin an unfair labor practice strike beginning Thursday, November 7th, 2024, at 8:00 AM. Because of Groden Center management’s lack of bargaining in good faith, the 38 Behavioral Specialists, who are members of SEIU 1199NE, have been unable to reach a fair contract agreement that lifts them out of poverty and recruits and retains qualified staff to create safer conditions in the classroom.
“Our wages are simply not enough for the important, difficult work we do. I have been at Groden for eight years and I currently make $18.90, which is 90 cents more than the starting wage. I have three children, and I have to live paycheck to paycheck every single month. It is a struggle to pay my bills, never mind the extras like my kids’ swimming and basketball. I want Groden to understand and appreciate us, value the work we do, and pay us for what we are worth,” said Sharae Barrett, Behavioral Specialist at the Groden Center and member of the SEIU 1199 NE Bargaining Committee.
Union frontline staff at Groden began contract negotiations in June 2024 and held a three-day strike beginning September 11, 2024. To reach a fair contract agreement, union members agreed to a wage increase that would have made significant progress toward a living wage. Not soon after, the employer regressively and unlawfully withdrew its wage proposal, leaving workers with only one wage increase over the next three years that failed to get them toward economic self-sufficiency.
“Management’s refusal to offer us a living wage is a slap to the face of all of us Behavioral Specialists who are the backbone of Groden. We love our jobs, but it is not easy - most of us have been slapped, kicked, or spit on while at work, and we often don’t have the staff we need to do our jobs safely,” said Katherine Siguenza, a Behavioral Specialist Coordinator, who has worked at Groden for 13 years. “None of us want to strike, but we need management to take our concerns seriously and stop wasting our time bargaining.”
At the Groden Center, Behavioral Specialists work with children and youth with autism from preschool age all the way to 22 years old, implementing an academic and vocational program designed to help them improve communication and life skills. Many Groden students are non-verbal with behavioral, emotional, physical, or cognitive challenges, which can lead to children acting out verbally and even physically. In addition, staff are required to serve as drivers or bus monitors to transport students from Groden’s residential group home to the school. Staffing shortages can create scenarios where staff are required to monitor more students they can safely manage and, as a result, are injured on the job.
Low wages are driving the staffing shortage and Groden’s lack of successful recruitment and retention, which, in turn, has necessitated the use of expensive and inexperienced agency staff, who are regularly paid more than full-time workers. The starting wage for Behavioral Specialists is just $18 an hour, just under $35,000 a year. A recent survey by GoBankingrates.com, which utilizes data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, determined that a living wage for a single person in Rhode Island is $59,936 per year, ranking 36th on the list in terms of affordability. At the same time, the average cost of rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Providence is $2,051 per month. As such, many Groden employees are forced to work multiple jobs to earn enough income to survive.
Groden Center union workers will begin their unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 7th, 2024 at 8:00 AM in front of the Groden Center at 86 Mt Hope Ave, Providence, RI 02906. The unfair labor practice strike currently has no end date.
See also:
Groden Center caregivers of children with autism vote for a 3-day strike starting September 11
Groden Center Behavioral Specialists hit the picket line for a three-day strike
Day two of the 3-day Groden Center strike features a dozen General Assembly visitors
District 1199 SEIU New England represents 29,000 health care and service workers in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Southeastern Massachusetts. In Rhode Island, 1199 SEIU NE represents 5,000 members. 1199 SEIU NE is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – a union of over 2 million members across the country.
And just in case, to clarify: I don't consider any human being to be "warehouse trash"--I've just seen how some people are treated, as though they are hopeless and just don't count.
Why is it that those who care for the most vulnerable and most need in care--the disabled, the elderly, the ill--are treated as though their work is worth no more than work serving fast food (with no disrespect meant to fast food workers). These people need special training and special skills, patience, the ability to deal with emergency and unpredictable situations on a regular basis. They don't need "a living wage"--they need a wage that enables them to live a full decent life, to support a family, to take time off if they are ill, to have time to rest, not to have to worry about whether they will get decent health care. When careless billionaires throw away countless sums to play games in space, the people who care for us when we are ill, for our disabled friends and relatives, for people who, given a chance, can grow up to be healthy and productive citizens instead of warehouse trash, are unable to live decent lives themselves.