SEIU members protest Bellefaire JCB lapse of union recognition

LORAIN — Dozens of union members and supporters gathered along North Ridge Road Tuesday morning to protest a local counseling center's withdrawal of its union's recognition. Bellefaire JCB, which provides behavioral health services in Northeast Ohio, recently notified SEIU 1199 that it would no longer recognize the union while negotiating a new contract for the more than 300 workers it represents at Bellefaire, including 15 to 20 workers at its Lorain office. In a statement, Beth Cohen Pollack, chief advancement officer for Wingspan Care Group which includes Bellefaire JCB, said federal courts and the National Labor Relations Regional Director ruled religious nonprofits are not compelled to recognize or enter into contacts with a union. Bellefaire JCB's roots stem from the Cleveland Jewish Orphan Asylum, founded in 1868 in Cleveland — later renamed Bellefaire Jewish Children's Bureau and now Bellefaire JCB. The organization, according to its website, does not limit its services to the Jewish community. "We informed the Service Employees International Union district 1199 that we would no longer recognize the union, effective Oct. 1," Cohen Pollack stated. "We believe a direct relationship with our employees will result in a stronger workplace as we continue to support the children and families in our community." For employees who were covered by the union, benefits and working conditions have remained the same and wages have increased, Cohen Pollack stated. Outside Bellefaire JCB's office in Lorain, about 60 SEIU members held purple signs and chanted and sang along to pro-worker songs and pop culture hits to protest Bellefaire's decision to no longer recognize its SEIU members. Jeff Dieringer, political and research coordinator for SEIU 1199, said the West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky-based service workers union has represented employees at Bellefaire JCB since the 1990s and were in the midst of renegotiating a new contract when they were informed their union would no longer be recognized by the nonprofit. The union's contract expired Oct. 1. "They are mainly providing social services like foster care, counseling, care for at-risk youth, working in public schools," Dieringer said. "The majority of our members are doing social services funded by Medicaid and the county MHARS Board. … We believe that they are not a religious institution." SEIU 1199 has disputed Bellefaire JCB's characterization of its organization with the National Labor Relations Board, Dieringer said, but with the government shutdown dragging on and the NLRB itself without a quorum due to President Donald Trump's termination of several members and the lack of confirmation for at least one replacement, he doubted the issue would be heard any time soon. "They're very, very far behind," he said of the NLRB. "They're underfunded and understaffed. (Bellefaire) seems to have taken advantage of the regulatory environment and the situation." With the issue in limbo until the NLRB hears SEIU's complaint, Dieringer said the union is handling the problem the "old-fashioned way" by putting social and public pressure on the organization in hopes it reverses its decision. Many Bellefaire workers have quit, he said, while others labor under fear of retribution as they are now at-will employees without union protections. He said employees still with Bellefaire are managing high case loads while being underpaid for their work. At the core, Dieringer said, the problem is not only a labor problem, but a client care issue. "They claim to have religious values and union busting workers without respect and dignity goes against the very beliefs they are now claiming is preventing them from doing that," he said. "Ultimately, if they're silencing the workers, that calls into question whether they're silencing the clients they serve. These workers take care of those vulnerable and marginalized communities – at-risk youth and people in poverty and people with disabilities and in foster care and child care." Similar protests are planned at other Bellefaire and Wingspan Care Group sites in the coming weeks. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.