Future uncertain, optimistic for unpaid former YWCA employees

Former employees of the YWCA of the Greater Triangle, which closed last month after more than a century, met with the organization's board of directors Tuesday to discuss when they can expect their final paychecks.

Posted 1:44 a.m. Mar 21, 2012 — Updated 3:34 a.m. Mar 21, 2012

RALEIGH, N.C. — Former employees of the YWCA of the Greater Triangle, which closed last month after more than a century, met with the organization's board of directors Tuesday to discuss when they can expect their final paychecks.

Employees were given just 24 hours notice that they were being laid off before the YWCA closed its doors Feb. 29 and never got paid for their last days of work.

Despite their frustrations, the former employees said they were optimistic after talking to the board for the first time since they were laid off.

"They're as concerned about us not having been paid as we are," former employee Olivia Robinson said. "I think the commitment to us is (that) they're going to go everything they can."

But former board president Maria Spaulding said she wasn't in a position to offer specific solutions.

"We don't have a business plan. We have a plan to develop a business plan," she said. "We must deal with the indebtedness before we move forward."

Downtown Raleigh's YWCA, on Hargett Street, decided to close because of financial difficulties. It is looking for community partners to continue running some of its programs, which were rooted in four core missions: education advocacy, study circles and youth development; economic empowerment and self-sufficiency; health care access and health education; and supportive services for seniors.

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