The informational picket took place outside the headquarters of the hospital’s parent, Care New England, in Providence. According to organizers, the demonstration numbered 600 people.
The hospital workers, represented by District 1199 Service Employees International Union, have been in contract talks with management since September, union officials told The Providence Journal. The workers’ current contract expired Dec. 1, and has been extended as negotiations continued, they said.
Carol Reuter, a 57-year-old registered nurse who has worked for 30 years at Women & Infants Hospital, told The Providence Journal among the key sticking points is staffing.
“They’re dangerously short sometimes on the night shift,” Ms. Reuter said in an interview with the publication. “You have three colleges who are turning out new (nursing) grads. We train them, work with them and then they can’t get a job here.”
Hospital employees on Wednesday also presented Care New England management with a petition signed by 1,300 Women & Infants staff demanding “safe staffing levels,” among other things, the union said in a statement, according to the report.
In response to the informational picketing, the hospital released a statement, saying that Women & Infants unionized staff “work in a superb environment and receive excellent compensation.”
“In fact, in most every job category, the wages and benefits for Women & Infants employees are among the highest in hospitals across Rhode Island. We want to keep our staff at the top. Yet, we all know that healthcare has seen many changes. What we are asking for is some flexibility in the work rules, particularly related to scheduling. If we are able to achieve greater flexibility, it will help keep Women & Infants strong as a workplace and as the premier provider of care for women and newborn children,” the hospital said.
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