Shield Institute workers strike

Employees of The Shield Institute went on strike Tuesday, May 23 after two years of working without a contract.
The Shield Institute takes care of people with mental retardation and physical disabilities, with many of its employees being direct care workers. Local 253, District Council 1707 AFSCME, which has 100 members in Queens, has been negotiating with management for the last two years.
According to Kim Medina, the president of District Council 1707, management wants to take away pensions and require employees to pay 16 percent of health benefits while not offering a substantial wage increase. She said, under management’s proposal, wages would remain the same during the first year and increase 1.5 percent in the second and third years of the contract.
“How do you live off of a zero increase and a total of three percent within a three year contract? You just can’t do it,” said Medina, while also mentioning that the average salary of these workers is $20,000 a year. “It’s totally impossible.”
Due to the lack of satisfactory response from management, the union went on strike beginning Tuesday, May 23 in three locations throughout the city, including 39-09 214th Street in Bayside.
“We’re looking for a living wage and we are most certainly looking for our health care to be covered,” said Eileen Kelly, who worked for The Shield Institute for 23 years before being fired the day before the strike.
Annette Dukes, who retired from The Shield Institute and lives in Flushing, attended the strike in support of the workers.
“It’s bad. Since 2004 they’ve been negotiating for a contract and they got nothing, nothing at all,” she said. “This is terrible.”
The workers will continue their strike indefinitely.
“[We’ll be here] as long as it takes,” Medina said. “People are entitled.”