A behavioral specialist at Groden Center’s day school in Providence participates in a September 2023 strike. Another strike was planned for Thursday, but after prolonged negotiations, staff and workers have reached a tentative contract. (Will Steinfeld/Rhode Island Current)
After months of negotiation, behavioral specialists at a Providence day school for young people with autism reached a late-night contract agreement with their employer on Monday, precluding a strike the unionized workers had planned for Thursday.
The tentative contract now goes to a member vote, which is expected to take place Thursday, said Amelia Abromaitis, a union spokesperson via email.
The 38 behavioral specialists, who are represented by SEIU 1199 NE, work at the Groden Center’s day school on Mount Hope Avenue in Providence. The workers provide a portion of the services offered at the Groden Center, which include children from birth up through age 22. Across the center’s offerings are instruction in things like communication skills, emotional growth and vocational training, with the intent of helping kids gain more self-reliance and functional life skills.
But turnover has been high with entry-level pay for specialists set at $18 an hour, or about $35,000 a year.
“Staff aren’t staying because management won’t pay,” behavioral specialist Katherine Siguenza, an employee of 13 years, told Rhode Island Current in September, during the frontline workers’ initial three-day strike.
Workers cited the need for a livable wage, one that could sustain recruitment and retention efforts for staff, as a reason for the picket. A turbulent amount of turnover, they argued, also affected and potentially diminished the continuity of care for the school’s students.
“The cost of living for food, housing and gas keeps going up while the starting wage at Groden is literally less than what one can make at Cane’s Chicken, who are currently advertising $20 an hour to start,” said Richard Jenkins, a behavioral specialist, in a statement released during the September strike.
A representative for the Groden Center did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
Contract negotiations began in June 2024 but eventually hit a wall. While the September strike had a limited duration, the union warned that an indefinite strike was an option should bargaining stall. That outcome appeared likely on Friday, Nov. 1, when the union released a video announcing their intentions to begin an unfair labor practice strike the following week.
A written statement released the same day alleged “regressively and unlawfully withdrew its wage proposal, leaving workers with only one wage increase over the next three years.”
Details of the contract will be announced when it becomes ratified, Abromaitis said.
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