Residential workers with O’Connell Children’s Shelter have filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board.

Workers filed for election Nov. 14 after their request for voluntary recognition was not accepted by Executive Director Gina Meier-Hummel, said Payton Smith, organizer for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 304. 

Two dozen staff members at five O’Connell residential youth homes and emergency shelters in Douglas County could unionize if the election succeeds. In 2021, O’Connell Youth Ranch and Children’s Shelter merged to form one nonprofit — O’Connell Children’s Shelter. It operates the Ranch, which serves boys only, and the Williams and Winter Houses.

O’Connell residential staff support some of the most vulnerable children in need.

They help provide residents’ basic needs such as food, clothing, hygiene and medication management. They communicate with teachers and other school staff, monitor attendance and grades, and attend parent-teacher conferences. They’re responsible for providing transportation, consistency, and a safe environment, and they coordinate appointments and solutions to address behavior problems, mental health issues, conflicts and other challenges.

The five employees interviewed for this article displayed enjoyment and passion for the work they do but frustration with Meier-Hummel’s leadership. Several staff members spoke of an environment dominated by a “heads in beds” philosophy that pits profits against the safety and well-being of employees and residents.

One employee, who requested anonymity, said he loved his work and found purpose through his job. He said he believed more people would apply at O’Connell if the pay and working conditions improved.

“I was actually a foster child myself for a little bit,” he said. “So I relate a lot with these kids.”

Meier-Hummel on Thursday acknowledged O’Connell employees’ efforts to unionize.

“We respect our employees’ rights under the law and the right to a secret ballot election provided by the National Labor Relations Act is one of those rights. We will be working with the (NLRB) over the coming weeks to support our employees’ rights,” she said via email.

Meier-Hummel also said, “We respect our employees’ voices and any decision they may make. However, we do not believe this is the best path for our employees or the agency and most certainly do not believe that an electrical workers’ union can understand or help better the lives of the children and families that we serve.”

Smith said IBEW supports a variety of employees who have sought out their representation.

She said national unions often represent job titles not included within their core group of employees. She cited the Teamsters Union, which represents a wide variety of occupations.

“The Shelter states that it respects its employees’ voices, but have treated them so poorly that they had no recourse but to form a union,” Smith wrote on Thursday.

“Unions are ran by the members, and will give the residential staff a say in their pay and working conditions for the first time. We believe that the employees who care for these children and look after the facilities are the best people to understand and help those that O’Connell serves.”

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Compensation is so inadequate, employees said, some staff can’t pay cell phone bills and annual renewal of vehicle tags and taxes. They said while helping teen residents apply for jobs in retail and fast food service, they’ve encountered starting hourly wages that exceeded the hourly rate they’re making at O’Connell — even with years of experience. In addition, employees said they receive no retirement benefits but have been awarded some bonuses.

Eight-hour shifts require staff to stay alert at all times with no pay differential for overnights or weekends, according to employees, and shifts typically occur with a 1:7 staff-to-resident ratio. Teaching assistants are employed under the supervision of house managers but often work alone. Minimum starting wage is $14 an hour, according to O’Connell’s website.

Margaret Harris, care coordination manager and licensed registered nurse, said O’Connell employees’ pay is not equitable.

“They’re working jobs that are intense and stressful and often dangerous, and they’re working these jobs on a shoestring, and they’re often by themselves,” Harris said. “And this is, you know, the perfect storm for burnout and for just leaving for something that’s easier and pays better.”

Harris described unionization efforts by residential staff at O’Connell as “extraordinary” with managers initiating talks with Meier-Hummel.

“But it was kind of a last ditch effort before many of us were going to resign,” Harris said.

The Williams House provides inclusive housing for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, who often face systems filled with harassment and discrimination. According to a report compiled by The Trevor Project, LGBTQ+ youth in foster care had three times greater odds of reporting a suicide attempt during the past year than those who were not.

Because it provides niche care, Williams House has attracted interest from placement agencies outside Kansas, according to Lex Mapes, Williams house manager. Mapes, who identifies as trans, has worked for O’Connell a dozen years but said he hadn’t seen a raise in three.

“I think it was just the connections I was making with the kids that really has kept me there all those years,” Mapes said.

Although O’Connell provides health insurance, its plan doesn’t fully meet her family’s needs, said Jamie Johnson, case coordinator.

She said she was willing to pay part of the insurance premiums for better coverage and hoped a collective bargaining unit could help with that. A single mother of four who also provides care for a disabled parent, Johnson said she hadn’t received a pay raise in two years. She also wants better training to deal with residents who’ve experienced past trauma and are prone to aggressive behaviors.

“We are here to make a difference,” Johnson said. “Yet when dedicated staff are met with unfair treatment, lack of support and inequitable pay, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain our commitment. We believe that unionizing is a critical step towards ensuring that all employees are treated fairly, that resources are used transparently, and that the youth receive the highest quality of care.”

Dyre Plunkett, house manager, said better pay and benefits would alleviate staffing shortages and boost hiring and retention rates. He said talks with Meier-Hummel hadn’t yielded the desired results.

“But when we would bring these issues up, the response we got is ‘There’s no money in the agency to do these things,’” Plunkett said.

Employees said they wanted more transparency in how the organization allocates its resources. They said while house renovations like new flooring are needed and they struggle finding money for ongoing needs such as haircuts, they’re surrounded by what they call “administrative bloat,” including the creation of a chief operating officer position earlier this year.

Public filings show that since the year of the merger, Meier-Hummel’s compensation had increased from $113,616 in 2021 to $172,534 in 2024.

Meier-Hummel said O’Connell was committed to providing an environment where employees were valued and that its employees do important work for those in Douglas County and surrounding areas. State and grant funding allows the nonprofit organization to continue, she said, and is directly tied to the number of youth served.

“We believe we treat our employees fairly within the funding we receive,” she wrote.

Meier-Hummel highlighted a grant O’Connell recently received for safety procedures training, mental health crises and high-needs youth in residential settings.

“We also provide consistent wage increases and benchmark our wages and benefits against other similarly sized non-profit organizations,” she said. “We believe we offer excellent benefits — for instance, we fully pay for the cost of employee-only health insurance, which sets us apart from the majority of other organizations our size.”

Meier-Hummel said that funding in 2024 “has significantly decreased due to a decreased census, we are hopeful that we will offset any funding decreases and losses as a result of our upcoming and ongoing fundraising efforts.”

Learn more about O’Connell’s upcoming annual fundraiser, the Lawrence Festival of Trees, at this link.

Tricia Masenthin (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at tmasenthin (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

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