Families in Bethesda and Chevy Chase whose children receive autism therapy through their IEPs are now entering a second week without services after 33 behavior technicians walked off the job at Verbal Beginnings in Rockville.

The strike, which began Monday, July 20, has stretched 11 days with no resolution. The workers, represented by Teamsters Local 639, say the company's final contract proposal offered no pay increase after three to four years without a raise.

Colin Johnson, a registered behavior technician who has worked at the center for two and a half years, told Montgomery Community Media on July 28 that the offer was a flat zero.

"We're not asking for anything unreasonable," Johnson said. "We're just asking for a little bit of adjustment to inflation… to be able to better support ourselves and our families."

Verbal Beginnings provides early intervention Applied Behavior Analysis therapy to young children with autism. For Montgomery County families, that therapy can be written into a child's Individualized Education Program, making the center part of a student's legally required support plan. MCPS runs its own ABA-based autism programs at schools including Walter Johnson High School and Walt Whitman High School, but private providers like Verbal Beginnings fill gaps outside school hours.

Parents left in the dark

Johnson said parents have reached out directly to striking workers because the company has shared little information about the disruption. He described internal company messaging that characterized the walkout as workers having "walked out on the kids." Workers dispute that framing, saying they gave the legally required eight days' notice before the strike began.

Verbal Beginnings, owned by board-certified behavior analysts Nick Chappell and Diana Wolf, has not responded publicly to the strike, according to Montgomery Community Media's reporting.

Teamsters national president joins picket line

The dispute drew national Teamsters leadership to Rockville on Thursday, July 30. General President Sean M. O'Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman joined workers outside the facility.

"Verbal Beginnings had every opportunity to do the right thing, and instead it's chosen to stall," O'Brien said in a statement on the Teamsters' Facebook page.

What's at stake for local families

Beyond wages, Johnson cited months-long stretches without basic supplies like gloves at a facility that describes itself as medical. The striking technicians have said they want hourly rates that match a living wage but have not specified a target number. The MIT Living Wage Calculator puts a living wage for a single adult with no children in the area at $29.28 per hour.