Inside, Saturday Night Live comic Michael Che will perform at the Portland Art Museum at a $350-per-ticket fundraiser for New Avenues for Youth. But first, donors must walk by AFSCME members who work at the homeless service non-profit. Some attendees declined to accept a flyer from the union members, but others stopped to listen to workers’ request for support.
Workers at New Avenues for Youth rallied outside their employer’s annual fundraising gala Oct. 22 and asked donors to urge the nonprofit’s leadership to settle a contract with raises for workers.
New Avenues for Youth workers won their union in a June 2023 election. Workers are still negotiating their first contract 16 months later.
As gala attendees trickled into the Portland Art Museum for dinner and a show from Saturday Night Live comedian Michael Che, workers held signs and asked attendees for their support in contract negotiations. The annual event brought in more than $500,000 in ticket sales and donations in 2022. Tickets cost $350 this year.
New Avenues for Youth provides housing and support services for young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Most New Avenues workers make under $22 per hour. Around 110 workers are part of AFSCME Local 1790, which represents roughly 2,000 workers at other nonprofits like Outside In, Cascadia Health, All Good Northwest, and Volunteers of America.
“As we gather outside of our biggest fundraiser event, we are asking donors to give everything that they can and to use their voices to ask management to agree to a fair contract,” New Avenues worker Kat Clark said at the rally.
AFSCME representative Madeline Bisgyer said the homeless and at-risk youth served by New Avenues need consistent support. “When there’s high turnover because folks are burned out, or wages are not sustainable, then they aren’t able to support those youth,” Bisgyer said.
Bargaining has resulted in some tentative wins on health and safety, but wages have been the sticking point, Bisgyer said. Management has offered 3% annual raises.
