PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Nearly 1,500 caregivers at Women and Infants are picketing this morning in hopes of raising awareness on “illegal labor practices” at the hospital. The union said nearly 1,500 workers voted yes to hold to picket today back in October, which constituted “99.9% of workers who participated” in the vote. The alleged unfair labor practices included “intimidating, threatening, and in the most extreme cases – engaging in impermissive physical acts against union members and staff in retaliation for their testimony against the hospital in a federal unfair labor practice trial before an Administrative Law Judge of the National Labor Relations Board.” The union has claimed that at previous contract bargaining sessions, hospital management “offered proposals that will erode job standards, trample union rights, and fail to solve the staffing crisis.” In a statement, a spokesperson for Care New England said: “Women & Infants Hospital’s leadership has engaged in good faith bargaining with 1199 SEIU since October. We are extremely disappointed that the union has chosen to conduct an informational picket based on false claims rather than dedicate its time to the bargaining table. The Union has filed more than 30 unfair labor practices over the past decade. The hospital proactively resolved three of the issues with the union, and for the remaining filings, the National Labor Relations Board has not found that WIH engaged in any illegal or unlawful activity against the union. We remain committed to productive negotiations with SEIU 1199.” The picket begins at 6 a.m. Speakers will speak at noon. Categories: News