Workers at Fenway Health vote to unionize

Union vows to ‘push back on attacks to LGBTQ+ patients’

Nearly 450 workers at Fenway Health voted Thursday to unionize, a move they say will add a layer of stability and protection for employees at one of the largest health care providers for the LGBTQ+ community in Massachusetts.

The vote wrapped up a months-long process for nurses, medical assistants, therapists, and more at the health care center. Workers first began organizing in 2022 and filed for their election to join 1199SEIU in August. Many also penned several letters to the health center protesting recent policies.

Now that vote is through, there comes an opportunity to advocate for fairer working conditions and to “push back on attacks to LGBTQ+ patients,” a statement from the union read.

“I am grateful that Fenway Health’s workers have advocated for the good of our patients, staff, and communities that we serve by unionizing,” said Michele Hatchell, a curriculum development and education design specialist at Fenway Health. “We can now work together, with everyone having a voice, to continue the legacy of Fenway’s commitment to the health and well-being of our LGBTQIA+ communities.”

Fenway Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Boylston Street health center is both the largest provider of transgender health services and the largest nonhospital provider of HIV services in New England. More than 1,000 of its 33,000 patients come from out of state.

That role has only become especially important these past few years, workers say, as genderaffirming care has come under intense scrutiny from conservative groups.

But Fenway Health has also grappled with a poor reputation of its own since 2017. Its former chief executive resigned after the Globe reported he had permitted a doctor who was accused of sexually harassing and bullying employees to continue working there. Then the center dealt with accusations of being unwelcoming to Black and brown LGBTQ+ people.

During the pandemic, Fenway Health experienced financial strain when revenue plummeted because of a decline in clinical care and revenue volume. In 2021, the nonprofit reported $102 million in revenue, down from $118 million the year prior, according to ProPublica’s online Nonprofit Explorer tool.

The vote then is “a critical step forward” in maintaining the center’s standard of care and supporting the employees behind it, said Tim Foley, the executive vice president of 1199SEIU, which represents 56,000 health care workers in Massachusetts.

“Fenway Health caregivers will now have a seat at the table to improve their workplace and continue to provide vital services, especially when gender-affirming care has been restricted in 20 states,” he added.

Workers at the center are far from alone in going union; organizing in health care has ramped up since 2020. Residents and fellows at multiple Mass General Brigham hospitals voted to unionize in June, and Boston Medical Center physicians rallied this summer for better working conditions amid union contract negotiations.