The board of directors at Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine (SARSSM) agreed to voluntarily recognize their employees' union on May 30, after staff announced that 100 percent of the nine employees had signed union authorization cards. Based in York and Cumberland counties, SARSSM provides sexual assault prevention programs, survivor support, advocacy services, and a 24-hour free helpline for the public.
SARSSM staff say they see organizing a union together as a way to ensure organizational stability in the long run.
“Over the last few years, SARSSM has been approaching a really beautiful opportunity for growth, with pro-survivor legislation moving forward, stronger relationships with community partners, and powerful new programs,” said Aly Young, Forensic Interviewer with the York and Cumberland Children’s Advocacy Centers. “Us staff want to continue on this path towards a stronger organization and services. Our union will be a means of support for each other and will be our way to reestablish a strong foundation and path forward for this organization.”
The news follows the successful union drive of staff at Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine (SASSMM) last year. They join a wave of recent union victories at various Maine nonprofits including Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, KVCAP, the ACLU of Maine, Speak About It, Portland Museum of Art and Preble Street.
According to the Press Herald, the workers are also calling for the nonprofit’s board of directors to restore a recently terminated program, Hope and Healing, which supported survivor groups for men, people of color and queer people. The workers also want the board to reinstate the program’s director, Devon Mulligan, and remove Erin Flood, the executive director of SARSSM.
“We feel it is very important to form this union so that we as a staff have an active voice in not only in the leadership of our organization, but also in forming the incredible services that we provide to the community,” Andrew Shepard, the SARSSM director of education and community engagement, told the Press Herald. “…The unilateral decision to dismantle the Hope and Healing program without cause, without a transition plan and without notifying staff or the community ahead of time really brought all staff together to address that this relationship with our executive director is no longer tenable.”