EMPLOYMENT
Housing Works Union Supporters Look to NLRB
Claiming non-profi t’s leadership is “gaslighting” workers, organizers seek election
BY MATT TRACY
A group of determined Housing Works
employees walked into the National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB) offi
ces in downtown Brooklyn on February
14 and fi led for an election, marking the
latest step in their months-long unionization
effort at the organization.
The workers at the Brooklyn-based nonprofi
t — which serves clients at the intersection
of homelessness and HIV/ AIDS and operates
brick-and-mortar bookstores across the city
— say they are fed up with poor working conditions,
expensive healthcare plans that don’t
provide adequate gender-affi rming care, stagnant
salaries, and high turnover rates, among
other concerns. The unionization effort has exposed
the resistance of Housing Works’ leadership
to employee demands and placed the organization’s
longstanding progressive reputation
in serious jeopardy.
Employees are backed by the Retail, Wholesale
and Department Store Union, which accompanied
them during their trip to the NLRB.
The workers publicly kicked off their union
drive in October when they walked off the job
and held a rally at the steps of Brooklyn Borough
Hall alongside RWDSU offi cials.
Housing Works employees stand at the front desk at the National Labor Relations Board offi ces in Brooklyn on February 14.
Workers say that Housing Works CEO Charles
King continues to refuse to recognize their union
or sign a neutrality agreement. Workers visited
King’s offi ce on February 13 in an unsuccessful
bid to mend the divide between the two sides,
MATT TRACY
but said they were ultimately left with no choice
but to fi le for an election — a required step in
order for the NLRB to confi rm the union as the
➤ HOUSING WORKS, continued on p.13
COMMUNITY
LGBTQs Again Banned From Staten Island St. Pat’s
Bigoted policy remains in place in borough parade despite pressure from local pols
BY MATT TRACY
An annual controversy is
brewing across the Verrazzano
Bridge, where
LGBTQ groups have
once again been rejected from participating
in the Staten Island St.
Patrick’s Day Parade on March 1.
Pride Center of Staten Island executive
director Carol Bullock said
she tried submitting her group’s
application in person on February
16 but was denied by organizer
Larry Cummings, who she said
told her, “This is not a sexual identifi
cation parade.” According to the
Pride Center, the Gay Offi cer’s Action
League (GOAL) was also rejected.
“It’s disappointing,” Bullock told
Gay City News of the ongoing ban
on LGBTQ groups in the parade.
“It sends a terrible message, especially
to the youth who are thinking
of coming out and celebrating
who they are. This is the type of
thing they’ll be facing. It’s sad and
frustrating.”
Bullock said she showed up
to apply with 30 to 40 individuals
who accompanied her in a silent
protest. They were met at the
original application entrance at
Blessed Sacrament Church with
a sign that directed applicants to
a different address “Do sic to the
threat of a protest by the gay pride
people/ politicians/ and ministers
of other faiths…”
Bullock said she tried explaining
to Cummings that there was
a time when signs read, “No Irish
need apply,” at which point Cummings
told her he was not alive
during that time period.
“Larry said, ‘Maybe you people
and your organization should hold
your own parade,” Bullock recalled.
In a February 16 tweet of support,
the LGBTQ law enforcement
group wrote, “@GOALny stands
fi rmly with @pridecenterSI.”
Bullock said it was her understanding
that Cummings and
the Ancient Order of Hibernians
(AOH), an Irish Catholic fraternal
organization that previously controlled
the Manhattan St. Patrick’s
Day Parade, organized the Staten
Island parade. But when Gay City
News contacted the New York State
Board of AOH, a spokesperson said
in an email that “the parade you’re
inquiring about is not sponsored
by or affi liated with the AOH.”
In any event, organizers — whoever
they are — face mounting
pressure from a bipartisan slate
of elected offi cials who represent
the borough. US Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand, Congressmember Max
Rose, State Senator Diane Savino,
➤ STATEN ISLAND ST. PAT’S, continued on p.13
February 27 - March 11, 2 12 020 | GayCityNews.com
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