Joint statement in support of Pathfinders Milwaukee workers

We strongly support the workers of Pathfinders Milwaukee in their move toward forming a union to help them improve working conditions, pay and benefits. We join in solidarity with them, as they provide valuable services on a daily basis to some of Milwaukee’s most vulnerable youth.

Pathfinders formed in 1970 for Milwaukee’s homeless and runaway youth and continues to be an essential resource to those who are facing crisis and who have needs for comfort, care and support. The workers enter the facilities each day on a mission to help keep these individuals safe, and to help them thrive. The workers are proud to be a part of the mission, and some were in similar situations themselves only a few years ago.

As Pathfinders has grown, staff have noted a pattern of insufficient training, abrupt and sometimes retaliatory terminations, and inconsistency in wages and raises. These issues, and the lack of transparency around them, workers say, is causing dedicated staff to rethink their future with Pathfinders. The work is already mentally and emotionally heavy, so improving conditions, wages and job security will allow Pathfinders workers to be able to focus entirely on empowering each young person who enters the facilities.

Again, we stand with the workers of Pathfinders Milwaukee, and in firm support of the right of workers everywhere to organize for better labor conditions.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.