Approximately 33 behavior specialists represented by SEIU 1199NE picketed outside the Groden Center on Friday to demand higher wages on the third and final day of their temporary strike. (Will Steinfeld/Rhode Island Current)
Frontline caregivers for children with autism picketed outside the Groden Center in Providence on Friday for the third and final day of a strike called to demand higher wages and better working conditions, with plans to return to work Monday.
But the union representing 38 behavior specialists working at the private, nonprofit day school on Mount Hope Avenue say the possibility of another strike — with no limits on its duration — remains on the table if their demands are not met. The workers have been negotiating a new contract since June.
First-year behavioral specialists at Groden make a starting salary of $18 an hour, coming out to roughly $35,000 per year, according to the SEIU 1199NE, which represents the workers. Union members say the wages fall short of the cost of living in the area and is not commensurate with their work as educators conducting lessons in a classroom setting.
“Staff aren’t staying because management won’t pay,” behavioral specialist Katherine Siguenza said while standing on a sidewalk on the corner of Mount Hope Avenue and Hope Street. She wore a purple shirt that said SEIU 1199NE on the front and SOLIDARITY on the back.
Siguenza said she has worked for the Groden Center for 13 years, and in that time, her salary has only increased to $20 an hour.
“If they cared about their staff, they would pay livable wages to show that we matter, and show that the students we take care of matter,” Siguenza added.
The Groden Center is part of a nonprofit network of 25 service providers for youth and young adults on the autism spectrum, funded through local school districts and state education aid. Only day school staff members have been on strike since Wednesday, allowing other services to continue active through the strike.
The day school, however, was shut down for the three-day strike, Siguenza said.
The union is asking starting salaries be raised to $21 per hour, with an additional dollar per hour raise for degrees held, including bachelors degrees.
“The ball is in their court,” Siguenza said. “What we’re asking is the bare minimum.”
Groden Center CEO Michael Pearis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democratic elected officials who turned out to support the striking workers Friday were Providence City Council President Rachel Miller, General Treasurer James Diossa and state lawmakers including Sen. Meghan Kallman, Rep. Brandon Potter, Sen. Sam Bell. Kelsey Coletta, who is running for House District 42 and Kristina Fox, who is running for Woonsocket City Council, along with a representative from the office of U.S. Rep Seth Magaziner, also attended the picket.
State Sen. Tiara Mack and State Rep. Rebecca Kislak, both Providence Democrats, came out to support the workers Wednesday, the union said.
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