Raises, no layoffs at Rhode Island Hospital

A union representing 2,300 workers at Rhode Island Hospital has announced that it has ratified a labor contract that provides pay raises and protects against layoffs through 2013. Teamsters Local 251, which includes maintenance workers and nonclinical support staff, is the largest in the Lifespan hospital network. In March, Lifespan announced that top administrators were taking pay cuts and that it was seeking "an across-the-board, one-time elimination of pay increases" for its employees.