Childcare workers at Verbal Beginnings who work with autistic children rallied in Derwood on Thursday for better wages. The 33 workers, who are registered as behavior technicians, Teamsters Union 639 members and state delegates all gathered to voice their protest.
According to Collin Johnson, a spokesperson for the group, the staff has not had a raise in more than three years. Before the strike, negotiations with Verbal Beginnings were at a standstill.
Maryland Del. Greg Wims, who represents Montgomery County’s District 39, offered his perspective on the now six-week strike.
“What we found is that those who make the profits and so forth, the business owners who don’t want to equally share, that’s what the problem is,” Wims said. “If they will do like most large or middle-sized businesses share with the employees, they’ll find that there’ll be no strikes. They’ll also find that the employees are happy, which means that they’ll do a better job than if they were not happy. So, that’s what the problem is, profit.”
Working with the children
Meylyn Ramirez works as a Behavior Technician at Verbal Beginnings. Even as she joined the strike, she said she was focused on the children.
“We’re out here to fight for better working conditions, not only for our working conditions, but for the kids’ future and the future kids that come in, fighting for them to have some consistency in their therapists that they work with,” Ramirez said.
She went on to elaborate.
“It has been such a crazy thing to see how kids can literally get so far just having that consistency — and I speak out of experience from the kids that I’ve been able to provide consistent therapy. And it’s so important because this can really shape their lives as they grow older and shape their family’s lives and their community and the people around them.”
Speaking from experience
Vaughn M. Stewart III is Maryland Delegate for Montgomery County’s District 19. Stewart said he knows personally the value of this work because his own children needed physical and occupational therapy when they were younger. He faults Verbal Beginnings for not being more responsive to their workers.
“They work with autistic children to make sure they can have some independence, they can grow and develop. These are the best among us. This is truly an occupation that is part of the bedrock of our community. And yet we are not treating them fairly,” Stewart said. “Having a provider that you know is going to be there day in and day out and that uncertainty and that lag, it’s on them. It’s on Verbal Beginnings and it’s unacceptable. And literally the most vulnerable people in our community, the most vulnerable people here in Derwood and in District 19 are falling victim to it.”
MCM reached out to Verbal Beginnings headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, for comment on the ongoing strike, but has not received a response at the time of publication.
