State House: Today, May 20 at 2PM, hundreds of striking Butler Hospital workers will converge at the State House in time for the House Budget Caucus at 3PM. They will call on lawmakers to ensure that any state funding intended for hospitals prioritizes the investment in wages and staffing for frontline staff.
Governor McKee's state budget proposal includes $25 million in funding cuts to RI hospitals, bypassing the required yearly Medicaid reimbursement rate, which is already lower than Massachusetts and Connecticut. Earlier this month, nearly 3,000 Rhode Islanders voted no confidence in the Governor's state budget. In a recent survey, almost 60% of Butler workers say they struggle to afford food and housing based on the wages they earn at Butler.