Butler Hospital workers renew call to end workplace violence one week into their unfair labor practice strike

“In the three years I was there, I experienced three serious injuries - including having my wrist sprained, a concussion from getting punched in the face, and getting bitten on the shoulder.”

One week after workers began their unfair labor practice strike, hundreds of Butler Hospital frontline workers gathered at the Rhode Island State House rotunda to underscore the urgency of the workplace violence epidemic they are experiencing at work, driven by chronic short staffing and low wages. Workers carried images of the injuries they experienced as a result of patient assaults and shared first-person testimony.

“I work on the intensive treatment unit. It will be 20 years next month I've been at the hospital. I vividly remember an incident involving a patient with a known history of violence. He was giving one of my coworkers a difficult time asking for a toothbrush. I tried deescalating the patient, who became very upset, charged at me without any warning, and took this toothbrush with the round edge and then stabbed me in the eye with it.

“Hence this picture:

“I don't remember much except for falling to the ground screaming, and I was in and out of consciousness during this time. But despite the severity of the injury, there was a lack of support from management. Not many reached out to inquire what happened or offer support.

“I ended up struggling with workers' compensation and covering medical expenses due to this injury. I could not see. For several months I had stitches. My eye was closed shut. I had a lot of difficulty functioning, and mind you, at that time I had two small children who I needed to care for, and I needed assistance to care for my two children. I remember them being terrified and crying almost every day, wondering if I would see again. And honestly, it was very embarrassing being out in public, going to my kids' preschool graduation with a black eye, knowing what people were thinking.

“This same patient later ended up injuring another staff member. The hospital was not supportive of either of us. During that time though, my fellow coworker and I, luckily, had each other to lean on. It's disheartening to know that the safety of the employees it's not prioritized. These serious incidents were brushed aside. I hope Care New England will do the right thing for us.

”On May, May 12, the union filed unfair labor practices against the employer, identifying numerous categories of behavior by the hospital that are both unlawful and unacceptable, including 1) refusing to bargain in good faith 2) threatening, coercing and retaliating against workers for protected union activity 3) surveilling workers as they engage in union activity and 4) making unilateral changes to condition of employment after the contract expired.”

-Amanda Butler, nurse

Striking Butler Hospital workers noted that workplace violence and injuries have been steadily increasing over the last few years. The latest workplace violence figures provided to the union by Butler Hospital showed there have been 25 additional assaults since the last count in March.

• From 2022 to 2024, there has been a 41% increase in patient assaults on staff;

• There has been a 79% increase in overall workplace injuries in the same period;

• Patient assaults on workers that required medical attention increased fourfold from 2021 to 24; and,

• 95% of workers said they feel management has not been doing enough to keep them safe at work.

“I have worked at Butler Hospital for about three years. I started as a float mental health worker on the inpatient units, and about six months ago, I transferred to the nursing scheduling department. This picture is my shoulder. Back in April, about a year ago, I was involved in a restraint on one of the general treatment units and the patient bit my shoulder right through my shirt and broke my skin:

I've had two other major injuries. I was punched in the face in the emergency room, and I sprained my wrist during a restraint in one of the intensive treatment units. I transferred positions because I was tired of getting hurt at work. I was done with being scared to go into work and wondering what was going to happen to me that day. I want management to realize that we are real people with real injuries and it's time for them to take our safety seriously.”

- Meghan Kiernan, Nurse Scheduling

SEIU 1199 New England represents over 800 frontline staff at Butler Hospital, including registered nurses, mental health workers, clerical, environmental service, and dietary staff who began bargaining in March. On April 25, 91% of the entire workforce of frontline staff at Butler Hospital voted to authorize the strike, citing management’s refusal to address the workplace violence crisis and wages below market value. The starting wages for a Mental Health Worker at Butler are $18.27, a CNA is $18.64, and a Service & Maintenance is $15.53. According to the Economic Progress Institute’s 2024 Standard of Need, $23.47 is the wage needed for a single adult to make ends meet and $25.75 for a two-parent family with two children.

SEIU 1199NE’s negotiating committee submitted a counterproposal on Wednesday evening, May 7, to management’s “last, best, and final offer” and has not heard a response since.

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“We represent 700 caregivers in Butler Hospital,” said SEIU 1199 Executive Vice President Jess Martin. “To put it in perspective, in 2022, there were 168 injuries, but in the first part of this year, 141.

“Why? I think the answer is pretty clear: poverty level wages, tough working conditions, and a turnover rate that is unsustainable. What you've heard from Care New England over the last week of our strike is that they're willing to negotiate. They're willing to sit down and hash this out. I want to remind the public that we negotiated for two months. On the first day of negotiations with Butler Hospital and their high priced, Boston, anti-union attorney, their very first proposal was something that they've refused to address since:

“For nearly 40 years, our members in the dietary department - many of whom are the lowest paid in the hospital - when they're done feeding the hospital, done with lunch service in the cafeteria, done feeding the patients their lunches, and before they throw the food in the garbage, they're allowed to make themselves a plate of food.

“What some of our members have done is take that plate home to feed their kids, because some of them are only within a dollar of the state's minimum wage. I want people to think about that: To survive, Butler hospital workers have to take food that would otherwise be thrown in the garbage to feed their children or feed themselves.

“Care New England says they want to negotiate, but on the first day of our negotiations, Butler Hospital said they don't want those workers to have free food anymore. ‘You want to charge them for that food?’ I asked their nice, anti-union attorney from Boston, who said, ‘Well, we're losing revenue, Jesse. We can make $120,000 a year charging these dietary workers to eat the food that otherwise would be thrown in the garbage.’

“No matter how many bargaining sessions you have with an employer, in New England Healthcare Employees Union District 1199, our members’ dignity is not up for negotiation.

“Care New England says that they want to bargain, but does that mean they want to get to a contract where people are out of poverty, can afford healthcare, have an affordable retirement, career advancement, and by God, after a hard day's work, make a plate of food before it's thrown in the garbage? I'd like our members to be able to afford food on their own, but under the hospital’s current proposals, our members would still have to take leftover food home to their children to feed them.

“That's what's been going on at the bargaining table. No matter how many sessions we have, our member’s dignity and humanity is up not for negotiation.”

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On May, May 12, the union filed unfair labor practices against the Care New England, identifying numerous categories of behavior by the hospital that are both unlawful and unacceptable, including:

• refusing to bargain in good faith;

• threatening, coercing and retaliating against workers for protected union activity;

• surveilling workers as they engage in union activity; and,

• making unilateral changes to condition of employment after the contract expired.

“I've been a registered nurse at Butler Hospital for almost seven years on our senior specialty unit, and I'm a new delegate for our union. On June 18th, in 2023, I sustained an injury attempting to restrain someone who was morbidly obese because there was not enough staff to safely restrain them. I herniated two discs and I have one bulging disc, which left me out of work for six months. At 27 years old, I struggled with activities of daily living that I assist in providing to my older adult patients on Lippitt One. Despite returning to work and all physical activity, I continue to struggle with chronic back pain and sciatica flareups, and probably will for the rest of my life. When injuries occur at Butler Hospital, we need to start flipping the narrative. Instead of us being asked what could have been done to prevent this, we need to ask that question to Butler Hospital administration.

“If you asked me two years ago if I could see myself retiring on Lippitt One, I would've said absolutely. But today, I'm going to graduate school.The increased violence at Butler Hospital, it is made it an unsustainable workplace. Today marks the eighth day of our strike at Butler Hospital and we are ready to go back to work to care for our patients. The group behind me and the people that I, as a delegate, represent, will provide higher quality and more compassionate care than any replacement worker could. We will not return to work until our needs regarding our safety concerns for staff and patients, lifting each other out of poverty, and protecting our healthcare coverage are met. Care New England needs to do the right thing. They need to hold themselves accountable by finally responding to our request to meet at the bargaining table that they have ignored since our last session on May 7th."

- Catherine Maynard, Registered Nurse in the Geriatric Unit.

“The stories and pictures that you've heard and seen today come from the professionalism and the dedication of hardworking caregivers at Butler Hospital,” said Martin. “Our members made the tough choice to go on strike and set a deadline for management. We set a deadline of 17 days before this strike happened for this employer - almost twice as long as legally required. It is the boss's choice. The boss chose us to strike by refusing to give us the wages, benefits, and working conditions that recognized our humanity and the humanity of the patients we serve at Butler Hospital.

“Care New England continues to thump their chest and say they're ready to go to the bargaining table. Are they willing to sign a fair contract that actually lifts our members out of poverty, saves our members from workplace injury, provides the quality of care patients deserve, and career advancement that our communities deserve? I want to know if the answer to that question is yes or a no. And if it's no, we're going to stay on strike one day longer than Care New England can stand.”