Two days after their work-sponsored health insurance expired, striking Butler Hospital workers marched two-and-a-half miles from the Providence psychiatric hospital to the headquarters of its parent company, Care New England.
The demonstration marked week three of the strike, which began on May 15 and has seen approximately 800 unionized members SEIU 1199 New England cease work to protest what they call unfair labor practices, including subpar wages and inadequate safeguards around workplace violence.
“We remain ready and willing to settle a fair contract and return to the patients who need us,” Niki Anthony, a registered nurse and member of the union’s bargaining committee, said in a statement Monday, adding that the workers marched on the headquarters to make the entire management team “stop the delays and end the bad faith bargaining.”
According to a statement from Butler President and COO Mary Marran, negotiations will resume on Wednesday, June 4.
“Butler believes productive dialogue on meaningful issues is the best way to reach an agreement,” Marran wrote. “We are returning to the table with a steadfast commitment to constructive dialogue and the goal of reaching a fair and sustainable agreement.”
Marran also briefly described the tensions from last week’s attempts at negotiations, in which both parties sat down with agents of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to hash it out. Wednesday and Thursday saw negotiating sessions take place over 11 hours, with no conclusion agreed upon even with the feds’ help.
“On the evening of May 29, 2025, after conferring with the parties, FMCS mediators recommended concluding the bargaining session in order to allow the parties the opportunity to consider modifications to their positions,” Marran wrote.
But union members alleged the new set of contract proposals they offered that Thursday were strategically declined by the hospital.
“It’s crystal clear management is using our access to healthcare as a weapon to break our resolve,” said Dan Camp, who works in behavioral health call intake, in a statement Friday.
Since then, workers’ health insurance has been officially terminated by the hospital. A May 19 letter from Butler management first informed union members they could lose medical, dental, and vision coverage on May 31 if they remained on strike. Other benefits — including disability, life, and accident insurance — had already lapsed on May 14.
Hundreds of striking workers have since enrolled for new health coverage via HealthSource RI, the state’s insurance marketplace. According to SEIU 1199 New England, the union organized a crisis team to assist workers with one-on-one enrollment support ahead of the May 31 deadline.
After negotiations stalled last week, Gov. Dan McKee issued a statement on the strike Friday, and penned a letter to the leaders of both sides.
“As I said before this strike began, my priority as Governor is the health and well-being of all Rhode Islanders — I know you share that commitment,” McKee wrote in his letter to Marran and SEIU 1199 Executive Vice President Jesse Martin.
“That is why I strongly urge both hospital leadership and the union to immediately return to the bargaining table to reach a fair and timely agreement,” McKee’s letter continued. “I know that you both take your responsibilities seriously and want what is in the best interest of the people you serve.”
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
