Speaker Shekarchi calls for Butler Hospital management and employees to ‘get back to the bargaining table’

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — On the sixth day of striking at Butler Hospital, House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi is calling for the union and management to “get back to the bargaining table.”

In a statement, Speaker Shekarchi said the strike is impacting the Rhode Island community, and hopes the two parties can “reach a fair deal in the very near future.”

SEIU 1199 NE, the union representing over 800 members of the Butler Hospital staff, began an open-ended strike on May 15, which is still ongoing. Union workers allege Care New England’s management of the hospital is not addressing concerns about workplace safety and wages.

Care New England, which manages Butler Hospital, said SEIU 1199 NE ended negotiations on May 7 and “has not yet returned to the bargaining table, despite our continued willingness to resume talks.”

Speaker Shekarchi released the following full statement:

Having access to the critical high-quality mental health services provided at Butler Hospital is vital to so many struggling Rhode Islanders, as well as those who love them. I am calling on both the management of Butler Hospital and health care workers represented by SEIU 1199 New England to get back to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith and come up with a fair deal.

Patients, family, friends and neighbors in every Rhode Island community are being impacted by the ongoing strike at Butler Hospital. My hope is that management and the union at Butler Hospital reach a fair deal in the very near future.