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Strike appears imminent at Butler Hospital

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Strike appears imminent at Butler Hospital

May 14, 2025 | 7:18 pm ET
By Janine L. Weisman
Strike appears imminent at Butler Hospital
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Unionized workers hold an informational picket at the entrance to Butler Hospital on Blackstone Boulevard in Providence Monday, April 21, 2025. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

Frontline workers at Butler Hospital unable to reach a new contract with hospital management will walk off the job starting at 6 a.m. Thursday, despite a push by state lawmakers to coax both sides back to the negotiating table.

A May 8 letter to Butler Hospital President & Chief Operating Officer Mary Marran signed by 44 legislators calls on the management of Rhode Island’s only private, nonprofit psychiatric hospital to negotiate a new contract with SEIU 1199NE workers, whose last labor contracts expired on March 31. 

SEIU 1199NE represents nearly 800 professional and clerical staff, registered nurses, mental health workers, and housekeeping and dietary staff at the hospital on Blackstone Boulevard in Providence. The workers are demanding higher wages, pension program access for future employees and greater attention to workplace safety. The union announced April 25 that its members had voted to authorize a strike.

“None of us want to strike,” Ashley Ouellette, an R.N. float nurse who has worked at the 168-bed hospital owned by Care New England since 2016, said in a phone interview. She is a member of the union’s executive board and bargaining committee. 

“Nobody cares about these patients more than we do,” Ouellette said. “As scary as it may be, we’re going to do whatever we have to protect the work that is done here.”

Butler Hospital frontline caregivers working without contract want more safety precautions

A message from Marran to the Butler community posted Wednesday on the butlerinfoforyou.org website indicated a strike appeared imminent.

“Please know we have worked hard to try to reach a satisfactory agreement with the union, but so far have been unsuccessful in these efforts,” Marran wrote. 

“No doubt the days ahead will challenge us all. I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt care and concern for each and every one of you. Whether you will be participating in the picketing or remaining on duty to help care for our patients, you are the staff that make this organization a leader in behavioral healthcare and your dedication and hard work are deeply valued and appreciated.”

A post on X by the city of Providence warned that traffic may be significant Thursday morning on Blackstone Boulevard, especially on the north side where Butler’s entrance is. Providence police will be stationed to assist with traffic during morning and evening commutes to minimize disruptions for the community, said Josh Estrella, the city’s director of communications.

“We encourage commuters to seek alternate routes and avoid driving north on Blackstone,” Estrella said in an email.

The 22 state senators and 22 state reps who wrote the letter to Marran expressed concern that the pending strike “would impact patient care, overwhelm our emergency rooms, and place additional strain on state resources.” Butler serves some of the most vulnerable individuals in the state, with nearly 70% of patients relying on Medicaid or Medicare.

The legislators’ letter claimed the majority of Butler workers earn under $20 an hour, with some as low as $15.30. Marran disputed those figures in an email replying to the legislators later the same day, referencing the the hospital’s best, last and final proposal that the union rejected on May 7.

“Regarding wages, there currently are 135 employees who make less than $20/hr. at Butler, representing only 20 percent of the union workforce – not the ‘overwhelming majority,’ Marran wrote. “Under the contract proposal that the union walked away from yesterday, four weeks after ratification only 55 of those employees would still be making less than $20/hr., and by the end of the proposed four-year agreement 99% of Butler employees would be above that level and the minimum starting wage would be only slightly below – $19.32. In addition to wage increases, Butler also slashed paycheck deductions on one of our popular health plans, and agreed to continue contributing toward the HSA for the duration of the contract on our High Deductible Medical Plan (which has $0 paycheck deduction).”

Because the union let the proposal expire, Marran said future offers will be “decrementally impacted by the dollars we have had to take off the table to secure a temporary workforce for a potential May 15 strike.”

Marran said the hospital’s proposal for a four-year contract included across the board increases of 18% for off-scale workers, double the most recent contract; increases for on-scale workers that were more than double the most recent contract; and a dedicated workplace violence task force, comprised of 50% union members, that would work with the Health and Safety committee.

Marran said she wanted the community to be aware that Butler will remain open and continue to provide care for patients. “We are committed to reaching a meaningful agreement with the union and continuing to provide safe, compassionate, and uninterrupted care to the community we proudly serve,” she said.

Care New England has hired temporary staff through an agency at a premium cost. The hospital paid $1.8 million on May 8 and another $1.4 million on Monday, May 12.

The union said Wednesday there were 116 open positions at Butler. 

“We have lost some really, really incredible staff to go work at other hospitals in the state or even out of state because of the wages here,”  Ouellette said.

Staff shortages have impacted staff training and onboarding, which union members say contributes to diminished workplace safety.

SEIU 1199NE says patient assaults on staff increased 41% between 2022 to 2024 while 95% of Butler caregivers say Care New England was not doing enough to keep them safe at work.

Ouellette said a friend and fellow nurse at the hospital is out of work with whiplash after being punched in the face by a patient a few days ago.

“We can’t have new staff training new staff. That happens here and it’s terrifying,” Ouellette said. “I’ve seen it happen multiple times and I know my coworkers have seen it happen multiple times. Like there’s absolutely no reason that a person who’s been here for a couple of months should be training. They’re still learning.”

This story was updated at 9:10 p.m. with comment from Providence spokesperson Josh Estrella.

Updated Thursday at 9:45 a.m. to include COO Mary Marran’s response to lawmakers and confirmation of the cost of replacement labor.