SEIU Seeks Union Vote at Roger Williams Hospital
Workers at Roger Williams Medical Center filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board to hold union elections covering 235 employees.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Nursing Jobs
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More than 200 workers at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence have filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to join SEIU 1199 New England. The petitions cover 235 workers, including maintenance workers, certified nursing assistants, patient care technicians, dietary techs and phlebotomists.
Why it matters
The filings would give hospital employees in Providence a formal vote on union representation, a process that could shape staffing and pay at one of the city's major medical facilities. Workers cited staffing and wage concerns as reasons for pursuing the union.
SEIU 1199NE filed two petitions on Nov. 3 and Nov. 5 covering 235 workers at Roger Williams Medical Center. The election outcome and final bargaining unit size remain undetermined.
The players
SEIU 1199 New England
A healthcare workers' union affiliated with the Service Employees International Union that represents hospital and nursing home employees across New England.
CharterCARE Health of Rhode Island
The health system that owns Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, formed in 2026 after the Centurion Foundation acquired the hospitals from Prospect Medical Holdings.
National Labor Relations Board
The federal agency that oversees union election procedures and resolves labor disputes between employers and workers in the private sector.
The details
SEIU 1199NE filed the petitions with the National Labor Relations Board, and workers announced their decision to join the union on Nov. 5. CharterCARE Health of Rhode Island, which owns the hospital, said employees will have the opportunity to vote on union representation.
Timeline
2026: CharterCARE formed when the Centurion Foundation acquired Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital from Prospect Medical Holdings.
Nov. 3, 2026: SEIU 1199NE filed its first election petition with the NLRB.
Nov. 5, 2026: SEIU 1199NE filed its second petition and workers announced their decision to join the union.
Labor Landscape
The filings follow the standard petition process of the National Labor Relations Board, through which employees seek representation elections under federal labor law. Recent hospital organizing drives in the Northeast have increasingly focused on nursing and support staff, and this effort follows a CharterCARE contract with United Nurses and Allied Professionals covering more than 1,100 workers.
Staff at the hospital will have a formal vote on whether to join SEIU 1199 New England, and the outcome could affect future staffing and pay decisions. Nursing and support employees in the Providence area should watch for NLRB scheduling notices that would set the election dates.
The takeaway
Hospital employees pursuing union representation are using a formal federal process to seek a voice in staffing and wages. Readers following healthcare employment in Providence can track the NLRB's handling of these petitions for the election timeline.
Further reading
Explore more on the Nursing Jobs section for Providence-area healthcare employment coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.
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