Union workers at RI hospital plan to protest staff shortages

PROVIDENCE – Employees at Women & Infants Hospital plan to protest outside the facility on Nov. 12, citing staffing shortages as the main reason for their action.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District 1199, which represents 4,000 employees, said Wednesday that more than 70 percent of its members voted in favor of the protest. Workers plan to stand outside the hospital, chanting and holding up signs to advocate for their issues, but have so far refrained from a strike. The union contract expires at the end of November and employees are negotiating a new contract with hospital management.

The move is the latest battle between management and employees of the hospital. Last year, employees of the facility, a leading health care provider in Rhode Island for women and newborns, stated that they had little confidence in management. Women & Babies is part of Care New England, one of the largest health care systems in the state.

Union workers said Wednesday they want the hospital to recognize that the nature of patient care has changed and that more staff are needed than in the past.

“I think it is very important that the hospital takes a good look at our workforce and realizes that patients need more medical attention during their delivery, or that they are also there for oncology,” said Melissa Blais, an obstetrician. Childbirth nurse, told the Globe. “And more nurses are needed to care for a smaller number of patients… I don’t feel like they really understand what’s happening to the patient at the bedside of the unit.”

Blais, who is part of a team negotiating a new contract, said the nurses are struggling to keep their balance the workload due to a shortage of workers to cover all shifts.

Doreen Engeian, who works in the diagnostic imaging department performing mammograms and CAT scans, has been at the hospital for 30 years. She said at a news conference on Wednesday that she voted to protest “unfair labor practices” at the hospital, expressing her dissatisfaction with the long working hours in her department. Some colleagues have been working 16 hours a day since a surgical unit opened at the hospital, which has left employees exhausted, she said.

“It’s very difficult for them to find staff to come with us or to retain staff,” she told the Globe after the press conference. “We’re getting burned out.”

Union leaders complained that contract negotiations were characterized by a lack of transparency on the part of management, such as an unwillingness to share financial information they say they are entitled to.

Jesse Martin, the executive vice president of SEIU 1199 in New England, accused the hospital last month of discrimination and “anti-union behavior” as they conducted negotiations. Proposals on creating pathways for career development, job protections for union workers and ways to promote a diverse work environment have yet to be accepted by management, he said.

“We have not received any response from the employer to any of these proposals, even after five negotiating sessions,” Martin said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Care New England rejected the union’s allegations.

“SEIU’s claims that Women & Infants Hospital engaged in unfair labor practices during the press conference are false, and we are extremely disappointed that the union chose to spread misinformation rather than spend its time at the bargaining table” , the spokesperson said. “We remain committed to continuing open, fair and transparent negotiations with SEIU so that we can resolve any issues as quickly as possible.”

Protesting workers said they plan to join the picket line outside of work hours on November 12. Alcidia Mato, who provides cleaning services at the hospital and previously worked in the dietary department, said she planned to pick up after her shift at 3 p.m. or arrive early for work.

“I’ve been working there for 21 years and I feel like I don’t get enough money for the work I do,” she said. “It’s frustrating because we’re trying to work with them, so they can work with us, to be a better place to work for. But we get nothing. We get cold shoulders.”

Martin suggested that union members will continue to negotiate in the coming weeks, but they are willing to go a step further.

“If negotiations do not improve, we will, if necessary, vote to authorize a strike,” he said.

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Omar Mohammed can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter (X) @shurufu.