Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Howard Brown strike reaches third day
by Carrie Maxwell
2023-01-05

This article shared 5502 times since Thu Jan 5, 2023
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Amid layoffs of 60 unionized and four non-union staffers at multiple Howard Brown Health (Howard Brown), Broadway Youth Center and Brown Elephant locations across Chicago, over 400 HBH Workers United non-nurse members represented by the Illinois Nurses Association are on the final day of a planned three-day strike from Jan. 3-5.

The strikers are seeking the reinstatement of all these laid off employees.

HBH Workers United alleges in an email press release that Howard Brown management has violated the National Labor Relations Act 19 times, "including firing workers for union activity and failure to bargain in good faith."

A Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) as well as the Midwest's largest LGBTQ+ affirming healthcare provider, Howard Brown serves over 30,000 patients with their healthcare needs at 11 clinics across Chicago. Impacted departments include behavioral health, health education, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) navigation, COVID testing and other non-medical entities.

Strike locations include the Sheridan Clinic/Broadway Youth Center, Clark Clinic, Halsted Clinic, 63rd Clinic, Brown Elephant Andersonville, Brown Elephant Oak Park and the Sunnyside Howard Brown headquarters.

At the Sheridan Clinic/Broadway Youth Center and Brown Elephant Andersonville locations Jan. 4, multiple cars honked their horns in support of the striking workers as they held signs and chanted various slogans. Strikers booed the small handful of people who chose to enter the Brown Elephant store.

Affected workers received an email Dec. 30, 2022 stating, "It pains me to inform you that Howard Brown Health's financial challenges have impacted your position and we have made the difficult decision to separate employment with you effective Jan. 3rd."

HBH Workers United alleged in a Twitter post that "a therapist and union member was speaking with a patient when their call was suddenly disconnected. The worker now has no way to reach their patient. Howard Brown leadership gave workers no warning this would occur and refused to answer questions about the logistics of these layoffs."

This comes after both sides failed to reach an agreement during negotiations that HBH Workers United have said were done in bad faith.

Lotte Brewer, who was a queer family building specialist at Howard Brown until she was laid off, told Windy City Times outside of the Brown Elephant Andersonville location Jan. 4: "My job was to work with the alternative insemination program at Howard Brown which provides insemination services to LGBTQ people who are trying to become pregnant. Another person and I did the social services aspects of that care, including patient navigation and education. We helped people get in touch with family lawyers and surrogacy, fostering and adoption agencies.

"Whether an organization is for profit or non-profit, they have budgets, and I completely understand that, due to financial needs, organizations do need to make adjustments, and that sometimes includes laying people off. Where the frustration really lies is how callously they did this, how little appreciation they showed to people who have dedicated years of service, including time in a pandemic, to this organization and how much they do not realize the value of our work."

Brewer, who had worked for Howard Brown for just over two years, added that she did not receive the layoff email until after 6 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2022 via her personal email address, after she was locked out of her work email and therefore lost all communication with her patients.

She questioned Howard Brown's decision to keep its clinics, youth center and resale shops open, all the while maintaining that no services would be compromised, further asking if the organization thought that "our work did not add value, that we were not an important part of the organization … To me this feels a little bit like gaslighting from an ex. This is a part of a longer history of employees speaking up against the organization doing wrong by their patients and employees. This is just the beginning of us fighting back against that. They are blatantly lying to us and giving us mixed messages, which is unfair in any situation, especially when patient care and people's jobs are on the line."

Howard Brown patient Chris Tennant (who is also a licensed clinical social worker) speaking outside of the Sheridan Clinic/Broadway Youth Center location on Jan. 4, told WCT that they "have always valued Howard Brown's amazing access that they give to people who are really in need of services. Before these layoffs, it took me a month and a half to get PrEP bloodwork approvals from my Howard Brown provider. I have known my provider for years. She is overworked.

"I ended up going to a different place to get my bloodwork done. The services here have lapsed so much in recent years. I cannot understand why, when these are essential services for the entire community. The whole staff is overworked, and quite frankly underpaid, for what they have to deal with.

"My message to Howard Brown management is: You have a responsibility that is so foundational to providing queer healthcare services in Chicago. You have to make sure they can access affordable, accessible healthcare. If it takes me a month and a half to get my bloodwork done, that means there is a lapse in my PrEP. If there was an HIV infection that happened because of this, that is not acceptable."

According to Howard Brown spokesperson Wren O'Kelley, some patients have chosen to re-schedule their appointments when they were told of the impending strike. This message can also be found on the Howard Brown website, along with a Dec. 30, 2022 blog post from Howard Brown CEO and President David Ernesto Munar informing the public of management's reasons for the impending layoffs.

In an email statement to Windy City Times, Munar said, "We support our employees in the union and their right to express their opinion. For our patients, we are continuing services. Howard Brown Health is confident that no labor laws were violated. We have not been contacted by the assigned agent of the National Labor Relations Board regarding alleged charges filed by the union. Our decision to move forward with a workforce reduction is legal and critical to address the real challenge of the unexpected revenue shortfall. Our commitment to our patients now and in the future requires us to act swiftly to stabilize the agency's budget to provide health care services to our diverse communities."

Munar added, "We were concerned by reports that a behavioral health appointment was interrupted mid-session on Friday evening. We reviewed our records for exiting behavioral health workers. There is no indication that any behavioral health appointment or session being held on a Howard Brown-issued device was interrupted on December 30th. The allegation is false."

In an attached press release, Howard Brown said "Howard Brown Health announced agency-wide actions, including a reduction in workforce, as part of an action plan to close a fiscal year $12 million revenue shortfall created by recent, severe losses in federal program funding. The plan will also help Howard Brown operate the nonprofit agency more effectively and reduce annual costs without cutting patient services … On Dec. 21, 2022, Howard Brown union representatives received the agency's last, best and final offer, which included a list of employees whose positions would be eliminated.

"Separating employees were officially alerted at the end of the day on Friday, and the agency posted an update on its labor relations page sharing the reduction with an official severance date of Jan. 3. Howard Brown is assisting outgoing staff members during their transition to future career endeavors. Departing employees will receive severance pay, health insurance coverage through January, employee assistance program access through January and career search resources. Howard Brown will also implement non-personnel cost savings and pursue revenue-generating opportunities, which address 75 percent of the shortfall for fiscal year 2023. Actions include eliminating or reducing spending, implementing leadership pay cuts and establishing efficiencies in care delivery."

Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd Ward) spearheaded a letter signed on by fellow city council members, among them Daniel La Spata (1st Ward), Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward), Janette Taylor (20th Ward), Michael Rodríguez (22nd Ward), Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward), Andre Vasquez (40th Ward), Matt Martin (47th Ward) and Maria Hadden (49th Ward), to Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady and Deputy Commissioner Matt Richards.

In the letter, the council members expressed their concerns over interrupted communication between the mostly LGBTQ+ patients and workers due to the layoffs, and made several inquiries about CDPH's relationship with Howard Brown. Among the elected officials who have been in attendance to support the striking workers at the time of this publication were Illinois state Reps. Kelly Cassidy and Hoan Huynh, as well as Maria Hadden.

The AFL-CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor, Chicago Teachers Union, United Working Families and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson have also issued statements in support of HBH Workers United and the striking workers.

For more background, see www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/Howard-Brown-Health-set-to-lay-off-15-percent-of-the-staff-union-members-respond/74437.html .


This article shared 5502 times since Thu Jan 5, 2023
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Brown Elephant Returns To Northalsted
2024-03-26
Brown Elephant's Lake View location is moving to Northalsted and already accepting donations. Howard Brown Health, the largest LGBTQ+ health center in the midwest, operates three Brown Elephant resale shops in the Chicagoland area to help ...


Gay News

An interstate trans healthcare crisis: Illinois prepares for influx of people seeking gender-affirming care
2024-03-26
With hard-won rights, such as access to hormone replacement therapy or permission to use one's chosen pronouns in school, breaking down in states across the country, trans residents of all ages are left with a choice: ...


Gay News

Planned Parenthood of Illinois expands Orland Park health center
2024-03-26
--From a press release - ORLAND PARK, Ill. - Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) announces the expansion of its existing Orland Park Health Center at 14470 S. LaGrange Rd., Suite 106. The 1,800-square-foot expansion is projected to increase sexual and reproductive ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-24
On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course
2024-03-18
Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

UK health service to stop routinely prescribing puberty blockers to minors
2024-03-14
NHS (National Health Service) England confirmed that children will no longer routinely be prescribed puberty blockers at gender-identity clinics, the BBC reported. The decision came after a review found there was "not enough evidence" that they ...


Gay News

One Roof Chicago launches youth-focused workforce development program
2024-03-14
One Roof Chicago (ORC) is set to launch its first training, education and job placement program for LGBTQ+ young adults in late spring. This Community Health Workers and Elder Care program is a part of ORC's ...


Gay News

Howard Brown experts discuss advocacy and allyship for Chicago's trans community
2024-03-14
By Alec Karam - Howard Brown Health's Trans & Gender Diverse People's Rights & Patient Care panel convened March 12 to discuss both resources for—and opportunities to provide allyship to—the city's trans and gender diverse communities. The event hos ...


Gay News

Chicago History Museum announces "Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s - 70s exhibition
2024-03-14
--From a press release - CHICAGO (March 14, 2024) ā€” The Chicago History Museum is thrilled to announce its upcoming exhibition, "Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960sā€”70s." Set to open on Saturday, May 18, 2024, this exhibition is ...


Gay News

Howard Brown Health faces October trial if settlement isn't reached with union
2024-03-13
Howard Brown Health could go to trial over unfair labor practice allegations if the LGBTQ+ health center doesn't reach a settlement with its agreement soon. Chicago's regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed ...


Gay News

Women's History Month doesn't do enough to lift up Black lesbians
2024-03-12
Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Combahee River Collective (CRC) was founded in Boston by several lesbian and feminist women of African descent. As a sisterhood, they understood that their acts of protest were shouldered by ...


Gay News

Pro-choice activists protest crisis pregnancy center on International Women's Day
2024-03-11
The rainy weather on March 8 didn't deter a passionate group of pro-choice protesters from gathering in Old Town on International Women's Day. Following the opening of Women's Care Center—a crisis pregnancy center—directly next to Pl ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

Pride 365 event emphasizes year-round support for LGBTQ+ employees
2024-03-07
Queer employees are queer all year-round. The need for employers to accordingly support and uplift them year-round was the core message at Howard Brown Health and Citywide Pride's Pride 365 "Out of Office to Out in ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.