The Center Workers Form Union with CWA for Frontline Workers Serving LGBTQ+ Community

NEW YORK – Today, workers at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) announced that they are forming a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1180.

Members of the union organizing committee presented management with a request for voluntary recognition after an overwhelming majority of eligible staffers signed cards signaling their desire to be represented by the union. Organizers for the union also filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). If their request for voluntary recognition is granted, organizers will withdraw the NLRB petition.

“The LGBTQ+ community suffers when workers are ignored, overworked, or forced to leave,” said Gloria Middleton, president of CWA Local 1180. “A union contract that secures good working conditions ensures that workers at The Center can best serve and support New York City’s LGBTQ+ community.”

"Unionizing to me is the best thing we can do to support the center as people who love The Center,” said Shana Salzberg, a Youth Substance Use Treatment Coordinator. “I feel so lucky that my job as a counselor gets to be to help young people be their full selves. I want myself and my colleagues who love and are committed to this work to be able to work at The Center long term and be able sustain ourselves in the tough work we do day in and day out. For that, we need a union to ensure we are getting paid a fair wage and to support us in an unstable and scary time."

“I want to retain dedicated and talented staff who tell me, ‘I love the work but I struggle seeing how I can grow what I want out of life within it, things like a family,’” said Salem Joseph, a Youth Leadership Coordinator. “A union is about building collaborative dialogue with management that will help The Center retain critical staff and better serve the community.”

“I’ve seen the dissonance between The Center’s values - of affordable healthcare for the LGTBQ+ community; of equitable pay – and the lived realities of the workers who keep The Center running,” said Silas Norum-Gross, a Youth Substance USE Counselor. “A union voice gives us the power to uphold these core values of The Center as we serve our community. This is not only better for us, it's better for our community.”

The union would represent more than 60 frontline workers, ranging from mental health counselors and youth services providers to front desk staff facing safety concerns on the job. The Center is a nonprofit organization that plays a vital role in the LGBTQ+ community, with dedicated staff providing services to more than 6,000 people each week. 

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