NLRB alleges bad-faith bargaining from nonprofit shelter

The National Labor Relations Board has filed a petition in a federal court alleging that the nonprofit Covenant House New York has refused to bargain in good faith with employees who unionized nearly three years ago.

In July 2022, about 190 employees at Covenant House, which provides shelter for homeless and runaway youth, voted to join Service Employees International Union’s Local 1199. The union represents social workers, nurse practitioners, medical receptionists and cooks, among dozens of other titles.

The union filed unfair labor practice petitions with the NLRB in 2024 alleging that Covenant House management threatened to suspend employees if they participated in union activities, and that the nonprofit had refused to provide the union with information relevant to collective bargaining since November 2023.

The petition filed by NLRB Region 2 on May 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York claims that Covenant House cancelled contract bargaining sessions and refused to make proposals.

The labor board also alleges that Covenant House’s management has refused to negotiate. The last bargaining session between the two parties was held on Feb. 13, 2024, according to the petition.

“The petition speaks to just how egregious Covenant House New York’s union-busting conduct has been; we applaud the NLRB for taking this step and our members for their courageous testimony in the trial,” Patricia Marthone, executive vice president of 1199SEIU, said in a press release last Thursday announcing the NLRB’s petition. “The staff of Covenant House New York care for many of the most vulnerable young people in New York City, and it is crucial that their rights as workers are respected. It’s time for Covenant House New York to follow the law and negotiate a fair contract without any further delay.”

U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams is overseeing the case.

In an amicus brief filed by 1199SEIU last Friday, the union wrote that Covenant House’s “verbal and written threats of discipline for union participation” and refusal to bargain “have had a devastating impact on the Union-represented employees who are scared to participate in protected concerted activity and feel so hopeless about the collective bargaining process that some have taken steps to seek decertification of the Union.”

The NRLB is seeking a temporary injunction that would require Covenant House to cease refusing to bargain in good faith, to stop threatening employees participating in protected union activities, and to stop refusing to provide information necessary for bargaining. 

The labor board also called on the nonprofit to provide bargaining progress reports every 30 days and to hold bargaining sessions at least two days a week that last, at minimum, six hours.

Covenant House did not immediately return a request for comment. The nonprofit, whose headquarters is in Midtown Manhattan, serves about 2,100 youth annually, according to National Health for the Homeless Council.

clewis@thechiefleader.com