Women & Infants Hospital workers call off strike, ratify new contract

Nine days after planning to strike, frontline workers at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence voted to ratify a new contract with their employer, union leaders announced Friday.

The 30-month contract provides a 13% wage increase over the length of the agreement, including a 7% raise within four weeks for the approximately 2,000 unionized workers at the hospital. The workforce is represented by SEIU 1199 New England and includes nurses and support staff at the maternity and obstetrics-focused hospital that delivers the majority of children born in Rhode Island each year.  

The additional negotiations came after the union announced Wednesday that it was canceling astrike slated to start Dec. 12 pending a tentative agreement. The extra time at the bargaining table proved worthwhile for the union, whose members approved the new contract “by an overwhelming supermajority,” according to a press release.

Unionized Women & Infants Hospital workers prepare to launch strike Dec. 12

“In the 22 years I have worked at Women & Infants, I have never seen wage increases like what we won in this contract agreement,” John Avjian, a member of the bargaining committee, said in a statement.  

Other contract provisions include pension benefits, scheduling rights and eligibility for the SEIU 1199 Training Fund, which helps pay for professional development or education tuition. The union also managed to stop proposed cuts to dental insurance and parental leave.   

“We were able to win key job protections against the hospital’s plans to subcontract our work to non-union workers and also preserve our pension. It is a huge relief knowing my retirement is secure with one of the best retirement plans in the country,” Avijan said. 

Administrators at Women & Infants, owned by Rhode Island’s second largest hospital system Care New England, expressed satisfaction that the threat of a strike had passed.

“We are very pleased that we have reached an agreement on a contract that benefits both our staff and Women & Infants Hospital,” said Shannon R. Sullivan, president of Women & Infants, in an email Friday. “We are ready to move forward with all our colleagues to focus on what is most important: providing outstanding care.”

“Women & Infants holds a special place in Rhode Island healthcare and this contract recognizes the talents, skills, and compassion of our team members while ensuring the hospital’s sustainability for the community,” Sullivan said.

The hospital and its workers began negotiating in October 2024, ahead of their old contract’s expiry on Nov. 30. After talks stalled, workers authorized an unfair labor practice picket on Nov. 12 and subsequently approved plans to  strike.

Workers cited financial stress as a major reason for the planned strike, with a union survey showing that 68% of staff respondents worried about making ends meet under existing wages. Workers said they sacrificed raises and benefits during the last round of negotiations to help the hospital navigate pandemic-related money troubles.

Union members also described the hospital’s shift toward prioritizing profit over working conditions, leading to staffing shortages that in turn affected patient care. 

Originally, hospital management proposed a $19 million wage and pension package over three years, which covered a 5.5% minimum wage increase for union employees.