More than 100 workers at the city’s largest youth homeless services provider have initiated proceedings against their employer over alleged union busting activity.
1199SEIU, the biggest union in the city, which represents 190 health workers at Hell’s Kitchen-based Covenant House New York, has filed a federal complaint claiming the nonprofit violated national labor laws by intimidating workers who participated in union activity and refusing to come to the bargaining table in contract negotiations. The regional branch of the National Labor Relations Board has ordered both parties to appear before a federal administrative law judge in Manhattan on March 11.
Covenant House is an international nonprofit with seven locations in the city providing housing, health and social services to homeless and runaway youth. The New York arm brought in $32.6 million in revenue in 2023, of which $19.1 million came from government grants, according to its latest tax filing. The employees in the complaint, who include social workers, nurses, kitchen staff and other clinical and administrative positions, have been without a contract since they unionized in 2022.
The filing accuses Covenant House of scuttling negotiations by refusing to provide information about its employees, including an up-to-date list of bargaining members and their seniority, details the union claims are essential to negotiating a contract – even after recognizing the union. Talks have stalled since February 2024 after a series of meetings in 2023 and early 2024, according to the hearing notice reviewed by Crain’s.
The discord escalated in June 2024, when senior Covenant House New York executives allegedly threatened to discipline employees who interacted with or discussed the union, the notice states. A month later, administrators said they would refuse to bargain under any circumstances, the letter claims.
“You would hope that they would…just come to the table and bargain with your workers,” said Patricia Marthone, executive vice president of 1199SEIU. “Nobody is saying to give people everything they want, because that’s not what bargaining is about.”
Meanwhile, Covenant House accused the union of unlawfully including members in its bargaining committee who served in managerial roles with access to confidential employee information, a prohibition intended to avoid conflicts of interest. In December, the National Labor Relations Board rejected that complaint citing a lack of evidence after an investigation revealed the members all held titles that the employer and union both agreed to include in collective bargaining.
The regional board is seeking the administrative judge to order Covenant House to negotiate in good faith, including holding mandatory bargaining sessions and providing requested information.
Covenant House declined to comment through a spokesperson.
