THE SEIU union in New England, US, reported that workers at Butler Hospital have officially ratified a new contract, ending the longest hospital strike in Rhode Island history.
After months on the picket line, they won stronger staffing, better pay, and protections from workplace violence!
‘This contract is a huge step forward, not just for the workers, but for every patient and community member who depends on them!
‘When healthcare workers organise and fight back, real change happens. This is what solidarity looks like.’
The three-month strike at Butler Hospital that forced the closure of roughly half of the psychiatric hospital’s beds ended as workers voted ‘overwhelmingly’ on Monday August 18th to ratify a new contract.
Butler Hospital and the Service Employees International Union 1199 New England announced the settlement in a joint statement: ‘This contract ends the strike and, most importantly, ensures that caregivers can return to their patients.
‘While this has been a long and challenging process, both sides worked hard throughout negotiations to reach this resolution.’
Butler Hospital is operated by Care New England, the state’s second-largest health system.
The four-year contract includes ‘immediate’ wage increases of at least $3 an hour for every worker, and up to $5 an hour increase for the lowest-paid staff, Ben Degnan, a mental health worker and delegate for the SEIU 1199 NE told local media.
Among the big sticking points in the negotiations, Degnan said, was the union’s insistence that the hospital raise the wages of the lowest-paid workers.
‘This is why we put in this work,’ Degnan said, ‘because we got to a place where we feel that this is really going to make a huge difference in every single person’s life.’
The deal amounts to at least a $6,000 wage increase for every full-time employee during the first year of the contract, the union said in a statement last Tuesday August 19th.
By the end of the four-year contract, every current worker will earn at least $20 an hour.
The SEIU 1199NE represents roughly 700 Butler Hospital workers – nurses, mental health workers, dietary and maintenance staff – and another 100 unfilled positions.
- US trade union confederation AFL-CIO has slammed US President Trump’s ‘Stop-Work Order’ for Revolution Wind.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration ordering work to stop on the Revolution Wind energy project off the coast of Rhode Island, which has employed more than 1,000 union members to date.
Shuler said: ‘The stop-work order on Revolution Wind is an outrage.
‘This project is fully permitted and already 80% complete, thanks to the work of members of North America’s Building Trades Unions. It is poised to create hundreds of additional jobs while supplying much-needed energy to the region.
‘Now, President Trump has issued an order requiring work on the project to stop, effectively kicking hundreds of union members out of jobs their families and communities were relying on.
‘New England needs this energy to keep energy prices down for working families and supply manufacturing. The administration should reverse course immediately and allow the Revolution Wind project to proceed.’
- The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM) last Monday celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), the first labour union led by African Americans to join the American Federation of Labour (AFL).
On August 25, 1925, Pullman porters at the Pullman Company turned to pioneering civil rights leader and labour organiser A. Philip Randolph, to help guide them in building a union to fight for dignity, fair wages, and justice.
Despite fierce opposition from the Pullman Company, which sought to keep its workforce divided and subservient, the porters’ determination sparked a decade-long struggle that ended with official recognition of the BSCP in 1935.
‘The Sleeping Car Porters proved that solidarity can overcome even the most powerful corporate opposition and deep-seated injustice,’ said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant.
He added: ‘This anniversary is a celebration of the past and a reminder of the work ahead. Their story continues to inspire the IAM and TCU/IAM as we fight for fairness and dignity for every worker.’
The BSCP’s victory was more than a labour milestone. It became a cornerstone of the modern civil rights movement, inspiring generations of working people to demand equality in the workplace and society.
It was the first major black union in the United States and the first to be granted an international charter by the American Federation of Labour (AFL).
‘When the BSCP merged with our union, they brought an extraordinary legacy of courage and resilience,’ said TCU/IAM National President Artie Maratea.
He continued: ‘That proud history is alive today in the men and women working on board trains across the country.
‘The Sleeping Car Porters and the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and his belief in organised labour are a celebrated source of pride that TCU/IAM will continue to uphold.’
According to a 1973 Washington Post interview, when A. Philip Randolph was asked if he had ever become discouraged during the bleak years when he was trying to bring the Pullman Company to the bargaining table, Randolph avoided the word ‘discouraged’.
He said: ‘I don’t ever remember a single day of hopelessness.
‘I knew from the history of the labour movement, and especially of the black people, that it was an undertaking of great trial … that, live or die, I had to stick with it and we had to win.’
The Porters merged with BRAC (now TCU/IAM) in 1978, forming the Sleeping Car Porters System Division.
‘The legacy of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters shows the link between the labour movement and the civil rights movement,’ said Josh Hartford, special assistant to the IAM International President.
He stressed: ‘Their struggle for dignity on the job helped lay the foundation for greater justice in our society, and that fight continues today through the IAM Union Rail Division.’
- Thousands of maintenance of way workers at Union Pacific (UP) have voted to ratify a strong new contract.
They are represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) of the Teamsters Rail Conference.
The contract victory comes as Union Pacific recently proposed a merger with Norfolk Southern.
If approved, it would create the largest railroad in American history.
‘Sitting on the bargaining committee was an eye-opening experience – one that I am happy to have contributed to and had a voice in,’ said Lee Ziegler, a member of the Union Pacific bargaining committee and BMWED Lodge 899.
He added: ‘I’m glad that together we were able to come to a resolution that advances our wages and benefits.’
The new five-year agreement guarantees raises of 18.5 per cent for the 6,600 Union Pacific Teamsters, as well as improved vacation policies, and health and welfare benefits.
‘On behalf of the entire BMWED, I would like to congratulate all 6,600 of our brothers and sisters for securing such a strong contract,’ said Tony Cardwell, President of the BMWED.
He noted: ‘Especially with the proposed merger, it’s more critical now than ever that our members’ voices are heard and reflected.
‘This agreement ensures this, and because of their hard work and unity, they will enjoy substantial improvements for years to come.’
Between the BMWED and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, over 23,000 Teamsters railroaders have ratified new labour agreements since the start of this year.