AUSTIN, Texas — Workers at Austin Pets Alive!, Austin's popular nonprofit animal shelter, are gearing up to vote on whether or not to unionize.
They say Austin Pets Alive! fights for your pets.
“We have over 200 animals right here at one time,” Ryan Martinez, an dog behavior trainer at APA!, said. “We have animals coming in every single day."
However, in order to do that well, workers say the shelter needs to fight for the people who care for those animals first.
“We are unionizing for better working conditions for both our people and our animals,” Ellis Avallone, a data analyst at APA! and one of the leaders of Austin Pets Allied Workers, said.
The workers say their main shelter is old – perhaps even too old.
“Town Lake Animal Center was built in, I believe, the 1970s. It is a facility that is crumbling,” Avallone said.
Avallone said the facility and kennels were not built to hold animals for more than a few days. However, Austin Pets Alive! takes in pets with severe medical or behavioral needs that need a longer stay.
“So, we have animals sitting in these, or living in these kennels which were designed for a three day stray hold, not four years of living,” they explained.
Martinez said they have firsthand experience with how the old facility affects their work.
“I have cut myself on gates and stuff regularly. We’ve had dogs escape spaces because they are breaking down, and that’s dangerous for obvious reasons,” Martinez said.
Martinez said not only do they need a better place to work, but more people to do the job, too.
“Typically, whether that's part-time or full-time, the shift ends at 9 o'clock, but they're regularly staying until midnight,” they said.
Every dog needs to be walked, fed and taken care of, and workers can't leave before then. They said that results in longer shifts with not enough people.
“This would be a hard job no matter what,” Martinez said. “I love these animals, and I've seen so many people who feel that way have to step away because they're not being supported."
Martinez said they feel like they haven't been heard by upper management and that's why they're unionizing. They're doing it with the help of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the National Veterinary Professionals Union.
“We really believe that the people that are best qualified to make decisions about the care for animals are the people working for our animals, and we want a seat at the table,” Avallone said.
The union went public in March, and reception has been good.
“Our jobs matter, our work matters and our lives matter,” Texas AFL CIO President Rick Levy said. “Others that are having the same problems in their workplace will know that they are not alone. The way it is, is not the way that it has to be.”
Because helping people helps pets.
“Our working conditions are our animal's living conditions. Their living conditions are our working conditions. An improvement of one is an improvement of the other,” Martinez said.
Austin Pets Allied Workers will vote on May 1 at the Town Lake and Tarrytown locations to determine whether or not to unionize. Results will be tallied on May 24.
They say if the union is formed, it will be the largest nonprofit animal union in the country.