On Thursday, August 10th, staff of the Mazzoni Center, Philadelphia’s LGBTQ-focused healthcare center and HIV clinic, confronted its board of directors and demanded recognition of their union.
The staff have been organizing for months to rid the center of corruption and abuse and return to the community values upon which the center was built.
The morning of the 10th, a small delegation of workers met with Mazzoni Center CEO Stephen Glassman to respectfully give him notice that they would be demanding recognition of their union at a public community forum being held by Philadelphia’s Office of LGBT Affairs to address the alleged corruption and abuse.
Glassman expressed support for their choice, but wanted workers to give the board a week before moving forward. By the end of the day, management at the Mazzoni Center was already holding anti-union meetings. That did not deter the organizing committee.
That night at the public forum, after the community had a chance to speak out, a group of Mazzoni Center workers read a powerful statement announcing they would be joining together through SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania to form a union. The crowd assembled erupted in cheers! It was a moving scene.
Glassman responded that going forward they would involve the National Labor Relations Board. Mazzoni Center workers are headed to an election hopefully in the next few weeks.
You can express your support for these brave workers by signing their online petition at bit.ly/MazzoniSupport and sharing their story on social media
Patients and community members who have concerns about Mazzoni Center can contact the Board of Directors at board@mazzonicenter.org.