On Tuesday morning, more than 100 Housing Works employees walked off the job for around an hour to demand better pay and working conditions, and to urge management to stop standing in their way of forming a union.

Workers at the 29-year-old nonprofit, which employs around 800 people in a mission to end homelessness and the AIDS epidemic, have been organizing with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) for about a year.

On the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall, the employees said that they are overworked and underpaid, and that Housing Works has discouraged them from organizing.

“I strive to connect and build relationships with each of my clients, but carrying a high caseload makes it difficult for me to provide the quality care they deserve, said Rebecca Mitnik, a care manager at Housing Works' Downtown Brooklyn site.

“My commitment to Housing Works mission should not come at the expense of my well-being and the well-being of my coworkers.”

The workers said that they make an average of $16.23/hour, and that their paid time off can only be used on national holidays. High turnover is another issue they addressed during the walkout.

“I’ve been at housing works for 1 year and one month. Right now I am the second most senior person on my team," said Miriam Zlotnick, a care manager in Manhattan. "The only person who’s been there longer than me has been there for eight years.”

Housing Works management has declined to sign a formal neutrality agreement, which would give the Trump administration's National Labor Relations Board to oversee the process.

"We tried to negotiate a neutrality agreement, we presented them with an outline of an agreement that even for-profit companies who don't claim to be progressive have signed on to," said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU.

“I had expected that an organization founded by militant activists would also be a progressive organization, a progressive employer but as I heard story after story I learned otherwise. Housing Works management is behaving just like any other anti-union employer in corporate America."

A spokesperson for Housing Works has not yet responded to a request for comment. The head of the organization, Charles King, told the Times that he is not personally against unions, and that his company had an open-door policy for workers to discuss their concerns.

“It’s not for me to say that these employees should recognize this union as their bargaining entity,” King told the paper. “The union needs to do its job and sell itself to our employees.”

Housing Works has also hired a law firm that specializes in fighting unions.

“We cannot tolerate being overworked and underpaid, to make huge sacrifices for the sake of the mission," said Ilana Engelberg, a caseworker. "We refuse to make due with less, while the agency has the budget to continually expand and to hire union-busting law firms.”

[Update / 6:13 p.m.] After this story was published, a spokesperson for Housing Works sent Gothamist a statement from Charles King:

“We respect the right of our employees to engage in any lawful labor action, and we have committed to remaining neutral in this process. We have always been supportive of our employees' efforts to advocate for themselves, our programs, and our constituency. In July, we invested substantially in employee benefits–offering more paid time off and assistance with student loans without increasing health care premiums.”