A group of Mental Health Therapists, Substance Use Counselors, Peer Support Specialists, Service Coordinators, and Front Desk staff at Lifeworks NW Hawthorn Walk-In Center, a Washington County-funded Crisis Services facility, submitted union authorization cards representing a strong majority of the eligible staff, with the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, March 23rd.
“This last year has amplified many of our concerns about the safety and sustainability of this work, as well as the quality of services we are able to provide for the communities we serve. We have watched as numerous qualified co-workers have felt they could no longer do this work, often for reasons that are within the power of Lifeworks NW to address and change.” said Skye Sodja, a Service Coordinator there. By forming their own union, staff will have a seat at the table, and input in the decisions that affect them and their clients.
Hawthorn Walk-In Center provides urgent mental health and addiction care as part of the Washington County Crisis Team and is staffed by Lifeworks NW, a mental health and addiction services non-profit based in Portland. Hawthorn also includes the Mental Health Response Team (MHRT), a group of trained crisis clinicians that ride with the Washington County Sheriff's Office in a partnered response to behavioral health calls routed through 911. The staff at Hawthorn help to respond to people in often intense crises, helping them navigate and get the support they need as they’re in the midst of an overwhelming mental illness or coping with the onset.
Following submission of the authorization cards, workers are asking for Lifeworks NW to voluntarily recognize the union, given the realities of Hawthorn’s unique county funding, staffing needs, and community partnerships which set it apart from the rest of the agency.
“The demand for their services has increased over the past year and the Hawthorn staff have continued to work as they always have. We hope that Lifeworks NW will respect the desire of workers at Hawthorn who have said that they want a union in order to have a voice in the decisions that affect them and their clients” said Stacy Chamberlain, Executive Director for Oregon AFSCME.
Chamberlain continued, “We know that there is growing interest in organizing a union throughout the greater Lifeworks agency. We’ve also been alerted that Lifeworks has reached out to anti-union law firms in an attempt to neutralize this effort. Lifeworks should not be using their limited resources on anti-union activities to fight their own employees”.
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