Hope House Shelter Workers in Bangor Win Union Election, Join Preble Street United (MSEA SEIU 1989)

Workers at Hope House shelter in Bangor voted on Wednesday to join Preble Street Workers United (MSEA-SEIU 1989), with a nearly 90 percent majority! Hope House is one of Preble Street’s low-barrier shelters for unhoused people and the only one north of Waterville

“I voted yes because having a voice at the bargaining table and having a voice when it comes to what my labor is worth is very important to me,” said Shane, a housing navigator at the Hope House. “Years of working for different establishments or businesses where workers rights were not valued or respected made me realize just how important worker rights and representation truly are.”

He added, “I work in a field where my job is to elevate and give those without a voice, a voice. Being allowed to have a voice in the workplace,” through organizing with my coworkers and joining our union, “will only strengthen and embolden my work mission and dedication to the clients I serve.”

In early 2025, Preble Street acquired the Hope House shelter in Bangor. Throughout the year, management told the workers that they were ineligible to join the union, and that they had to leave the room when a union coworker arrived to chat at new employee orientations. While workers were excited that the organization kept the shelter open, turnover remained high, and expectations from one workday to the next were not clear. One worker described having to take worker safety into her own hands by going to a needle exchange program herself after months of raising concerns to management about their unsafe, broken, and full sharps disposal bins.

In the early fall, workers at Hope House organized to gather 27 out of 30 of their coworkers’ signatures on a letter to management stating their intent to join the union. Rather than respecting the workers’ choices and recognizing their union eligibility, management chose to send out mass emails shaming the workers and hosting anti-union “informational meetings.”

Katelynn, a shelter navigator at the Hope House said that this didn’t shake her determination. “I chose to stick with [the organizing effort] because I want a better work environment for myself and others. I want us to have fair options and to feel like we are backed by more than just management!”