Women & Infants Frontline Staff Vote by Overwhelming Supermajority to Ratify New Contract with Ground-Breaking Gains

06 December 2024

13% wage increases, protections to pension and healthcare benefits and landmark expansion of union training program

Providence - Frontline workers at Women & Infants Hospital who provide specialized care and services to Rhode Island mothers and babies have voted to ratify their new two and a half year contract by an overwhelming supermajority after reaching a tentative agreement earlier this week. The over 2,000 staff who are members of SEIU 1199NE were able to win groundbreaking wage increases, protections of their healthcare benefits, secured pension, expansion of the union training program and a number of other key benefits (listed below).

In the 22 years I have worked at Women & Infants, I have never seen wage increases like what we won in this contract agreement. We were able to win key job protections against the hospital’s plans to subcontract our work to non-union workers and also preserve our pension. It is a huge relief knowing my retirement is secure with one of the best retirement plans in the country.

John Avjian, Engineering and member of the bargaining committee

In their new contract agreement, Women & Infants workers were able to achieve:

13% wage increase over the length of the contract, including 7% raise within four weeks of contract ratification
Full participation in the SEIU 1199 Training Fund, which will provide workers with significantly more access to training opportunities including advanced tuition reimbursement
Secured pension benefits
Defended health insurance costs against proposed raises
Protected union jobs against subcontracting to non-union workers
Preserved parental leave against proposed cuts
Expanded scheduling rights
Translation of the contract into Portuguese and Spanish

Since October, 2024 Women & Infants frontline workers have been in contract negotiations with Care New England, Rhode Island's second largest hospital system. On November 12, over 1,200 union members held an unfair labor practice informational picket demanding an end to management's refusal to bargain in good faith and more recently, over 1,600 workers voted to strike on December 12. One of the major concerns for members was the lack of competitive wages offered by management, with 68% of frontline staff indicating they feel stressed about not being able to make ends meet in a recent union survey.

We are so proud of the wage increases we were able to achieve in this contract which will help all Women & Infants workers have a better quality of life, including our lowest paid members. Not only that, we were able to preserve the current cost of our healthcare plan and prevent management from making unilateral changes to our schedules. Not only will this retain current employees, it will attract new qualified staff into the hospital which will make a significant impact on our staffing shortages. Our work to improve quality patient care is not over but this is a huge step in the right direction.

Susan Gordon, a Registered Nurse for 36 years, now in the Oncology Department, and bargaining committee member.

Healthcare workers have been sacrificing for years in order to keep our failing healthcare system running - it’s time healthcare operators start investing in the people that provide the care, not in exorbitant corporate CEO salaries and bonuses. The contract at Women & infants sets a new standard for the dignity for healthcare workers by securing their pensions, raising wages and controlling the cost of healthcare. Not only that, the opportunity for career advancement and education in the new 1199 Training Fund at the hospital makes it the best educational benefit for any healthcare worker in the state. We will continue bargaining with Care New England over the next six months as workers’ contracts expire at Butler Hospital and the VNA. Union members will demand the dignity and respect they deserve.

Jesse Martin, Executive Vice President of SEIU 1199 New England

Along with frontline staff at Butler Hospital and the VNA (Visiting Nurses Association), Women & Infants frontline staff make up nearly 3,000 Care New England employees engaged in contract bargaining over the next six months.

###
District 1199 SEIU New England represents 29,000 health care and service workers in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Southeastern Massachusetts. In Rhode Island, 1199 SEIU NE represents 5,000 members. 1199 SEIU NE is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – a union of over 2 million members across the country.