In an historic year of Care New England contract bargaining, Women & Infants caregivers to release results of vote to engage in informational picketing in response to the Hospital's immoral and unlawful behavior

Warwick - On Wednesday, October 30th at 11:00 AM, frontline caregivers at Women & Infants Hospital ("the Hospital") who are members of the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, SEIU ("the Union" or "District 1199") will hold a press conference to announce the results of a Hospital-wide vote to hold an informational picket to protest the Hospital's numerous, unremedied unfair labor practices (ulps). Over 2,000 Women & Infants union members have been in bargaining with the Hospital to negotiate the terms of a new contract since the beginning of this month. Together with District 1199 members employed at Butler Hospital and the VNA (Visiting Nurses Association), the W&I Hospital union members make up nearly 3,000 employees of the Care New England health care entities who will be engaged in contract bargaining with the Union over the next six months. 

In the last three bargaining sessions with the Union, Women & Infants's management offered proposals that will erode job standards, trample union rights and fail to solve the staffing crisis at the Hospital. Even more concerning; the Union has identified numerous categories of behavior by the Hospital that are both unlawful and unacceptable to the union members, including 1) refusal to bargain over several changes in the terms and conditions of employment of Union workers, 2) refusing to provide information requested for the purposes of formulating bargaining proposals and responding to the Hospital's proposals, and 3)  intimidating, threatening, and in the most extreme cases – engaging in impermissive physical acts against union members and staff in retaliation for their testimony against the Hospital in a federal unfair labor practice trial before an Administrative Law Judge of the National Labor Relations Board.  These clear and numerous violations of the National Labor Relations Act have prompted the Union to file multiple unfair labor practice charges against the Hospital. At the press conference, union caregivers will discuss in greater detail management’s problematic bargaining proposals and the impetus for voting for an informational picket to protest the Hospital's unremedied unfair labor practices. 

Caregivers are calling on Care New England to stop anti-union behavior and settle a fair union contract that addresses the systemic care crisis that threatens to compromise the level of care that can be provided to mothers and their babies.