Youth Pride, Inc., Rhode Island’s only nonprofit for LGBTQ+ youth, has voted to unionize.
Increasingly, the organization’s employees “felt their wages did not reflect the rising cost of living and extent of their work responsibilities, and they lacked a clear discourse with management to address issues,” according to the Thursday night announcement. Staff voted “overwhelmingly” to join SEIU 1199 New England.
In a statement, center coordinator Aileen Feliz said that the organization’s pay structure is not equitable “and many of us need second jobs to afford the cost of living in Rhode Island.”
“Because of this, we are not able to fully commit to the life-changing work we do at Youth Pride,” Feliz said. “We voted for our union to first and foremost be able to advocate for our youth on a level where we are actually heard and considered.”
Nonprofit says it respects decision to unionize
“YPI respects the choice that the our staff have made to unionize and we look forward to negotiating in good faith an agreement that enables us to continue to serve LGBTQ youth and remain financially sustainable in the future,” executive director Rush Frazier said in a statement.