PROVIDENCE – Hundreds of employees at Butler Hospital are planning to go on an “open-ended” strike beginning May 15.
Members of Service Employees International Union 119 New England, which represents more than 800 employees at Butler, say the strike comes after months of negotiations with management has failed to produce “ any meaningful progress to address chronic short staffing, low wages and workplace violence issues.”
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“After almost two months of negotiations, Care New England has failed to consider our proposals to offer needed training, raise wages and confront the workplace violence epidemic we experience almost daily,” said Dawn Williams, a registered nurse in the intensive treatment unit and member of the negotiating committee. “At the end of the day, if we don’t solve these core issues, it is our patients who will suffer the consequences from the revolving door of staff who refuse to put their safety in jeopardy for the low wages we earn.”
The workers’ current contract expired March 31 and there are 116 open positions at the hospital, the union said. There was a 41% increase in patient assaults of staff between from 2022 to 2024. Also, 95% of workers say Care New England isn’t doing enough to keep them safe at work and 60% say they’ve struggled to afford food and housing costs.
Care New England says it’s done everything it can to reach an agreement with the union. This includes making proposals to workplace violence and offering a package that includes wage increases and a benefits package.
“Butler Hospital is deeply disappointed that SEIU 1199 has chosen to issue a notice of intent to strike,” Raina Smith, spokesperson for Care New England, said in a statement.
On April 15, the union responded to the hospital’s opening wage proposal – which Smith says is the largest in more than a decade – asking for an average 79.3% wage increase over two years. The hospital came back with wage increases between 15.6% and 32% over the four-year contract, but got no “meaningful response” from the union to this counterproposal. The union came back asking for 71.1% in wage increases over two years, Smith said.
“Striking will not bring us closer to an agreement. It will only result in lost wages for employees,” Smith said, adding the hospital has contracted a third-party vendor to ensure care is uninterrupted during the strike. “We urge the union to reconsider this path and return to the bargaining table prepared to engage in productive dialogue.”
After the bargaining session on April 29, the hospital recommended using mediation resources available through the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com
