Over 1,000 staff members at Women & Infants Hospital hold ULP strike

Kelli Price, Registered Nurse (RN) at Women & Infants Hospital and member of Service Employees Internation Union (SEIU) 1199 New England, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) union staff has already faced from management. She also discussed how these led to an informational picket earlier this week that included more than 1,000 staff at the Rhode Island hospital.

Price has been at Women & Infants Hospital for 28 years, and it has become a family affair, as most of her family has worked with her over the years. She started in the Dietary Department while in high school, but she left and came back in 1996 after the birth of her son. Price said her experience with nurses at the hospital during the birth of her son pushed her to become an RN, and she discussed how that decision led her to her current role at the hospital.

Staffing issues have significantly impacted several hospitals nationwide, and Price said the Women & Infants Hospital is no different. She said the hospital has always been Rhode Island’s premier hospital for mothers and babies, but working conditions have worsened for the staff. Price said the nurses strive to give the best care possible, but their hands are tied when there are not enough staff. She added that the wages have also contributed to the problems.

In October, nearly 1,500 Women & Infants Hospital frontline staff, about 99 percent of the bargaining unit, voted yes to authorize a ULP informational picket, and earlier this week, over 1,000 workers went on strike to demand change, Price said. She discussed the three main complaints that led to the strike: refusing to bargain over working conditions, not bargaining in good faith and participating in retaliatory actions against staff. Price discussed the reaction to the strike and what could be next for the union members at Women & Infants Hospital. 

For more from Price, listen to the show above.