Rhode Island Unions Gained Representation Of 6,000 New Workers In 2016

Organized labor has faced tough times in recent years as manufacturing has moved abroad, Republican governors and legislators have gone after public employee unions, and weak labor laws make union organizing more difficult.

But workers in some states, including Rhode Island, still value union representation, as new data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show.

Unions gained about 6,000 workers in Rhode Island in 2016, according to the data. Among the union organizing victories were food services, where the United Food and Commercial Workers organized employees at Eastland Food Service and Summit Nursing Home. The Laborers International Union of North America organized dealers at the Twin River Casino.

As has been the case in other states, medical care workers have been a fertile ground for union organizing. In Rhode Island, the Service Employees International Union organized units at Butler Hospital and at Woman & Infants Hospital. The National Education – Rhode Island is now representing adjunct professors at the Community College of Rhode Island. United Nurses (UNAP) picked up several units at Kent Hospital and Teamsters Local 251 has organized employees at Elmwood Health Center and other venues and UniteHere organized the Renaissance Hotel in Providence after a long organizing drive.

Read more: http://ripr.org/post/ri-unions-gained-representation-6000-new-workers-2016