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Rhode Island
Residents, interns at Rhode Island Hospital are first doctors in RI to join a union
The doctors voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents, the largest such union in the U.S., with more than 34,000 members
PROVIDENCE – In an effort to increase their pay, improve working conditions and patient care, resident physicians and fellows at Rhode Island Hospital have voted to join a union, making them the first doctors in Rhode Island to unionize.
The vote by secret mail ballot passed, 464-27, doctors who’ve led the effort announced Tuesday night.
The doctors voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents for the purpose of collective bargaining with their employer, Brown University Health, formerly Lifespan. The Committee of Interns and Residents is the largest such union in the country, with more than 34,000 members.
A second group of physicians working mostly in Brown-affiliated programs at Care New England hospitals is also voting on whether to join the union, but those ballots aren’t due until January 14 and won’t be counted until January 15, according to the Committee of Interns and Residents.
Care New England’s Hospital’s include Butler Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital, and Kent Hospital.
Doctors in residencies say they regularly work 80 hours a week for first-year pay that can amount to as little as $15 per hour. The combination of demanding schedules and inadequate pay has a ripple effect that challenges their ability to treat patients and weakens the overall health care system, doctors say.
“We’re very proud of the work we do but we’re very much stretched to the breaking point in order to deliver this high-quality care,” said Dr. Felicia Sun, a neurosurgery resident at Rhode Island Hospital. “We’ve known for a long time that unionization is the first step to making our working conditions more humane, so we can continue to give the kind of care we want for the rest of our careers, and I’m so excited for what I expect to be a very positive result.”
The Committee of Interns and Residents has doubled in size since the onset of the pandemic.
CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island State Police are investigating a crash that happened on I-295 North in Cumberland Tuesday night.
The crash happened in the right lane near Exit 22 just before 9 p.m.
It’s unclear exactly what caused the crash or if anyone was injured.
12 News has reached out to Rhode Island State Police for more information but has not heard back.
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Scandals shake up Capitol Hill ahead of midterm elections
Congressional reporter Zachary Schermele dives into the latest scandals on Capitol Hill and how they’re shaking up politics ahead of midterms.
Rhode Island’s Democrat and Republican primary elections will officially be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9 this year, instead of the usual Tuesday election day.
Lawmakers passed the bill at the urging of state and local officials, who were concerned that an election day falling the day after Labor Day would not give them enough time to set up polls for the arrival of voters.
Gov. Dan McKee signed the bill on April 20, officially moving the primary day for 2026.
Which races will be on the ballot? The Republican and Democrat nominees for a swath of local offices – most notably governor but also lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Why was RI’s primary day moved?
At a hearing on the bill earlier this year, Randy Rossi, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns explained the “significant logistical and financial challenges” municipalities otherwise would have faced having an election the day after Labor Day.
“Beyond cost, municipalities face serious logistical challenges accessing and setting up more than 430 polling locations on a major federal holiday, a process that often requires many hours and access to facilities that are typically closed and unstaffed on Labor Day,” he said.
“Compounding these challenges, many municipalities conduct early voting in city or town halls that must also serve as primary day polling locations,” Rossi noted.
Without changes to current law, he said, “municipalities would be required to conduct early voting and primary day polling simultaneously, often in the same limited space and with the same poll workers, requiring additional staffing and facilities.”
By the time this legislative hearing took place in January, other states facing similar issues, including Massachusetts, had already adjusted their primary dates, “and Rhode Island itself has demonstrated that alternative scheduling can be successful, as occurred during the statewide Wednesday primary in 2018,” Rossi said.
EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (WPRI) — If you’re looking to satisfy you’re sweet tooth, look no further than Division Street.
Nothing Bundt Cakes opened its first Rhode Island bakery in East Greenwich earlier this month. The new bakery is situated within East Greenwich Square, which is also home to the Ocean State’s first Crumbl.
The bakery is known for its handcrafted specialty Bundt cakes, as well as smaller “Bundtlets,” and bite-sized “Bundtinis,” that come in a variety of flavors.
“There’s a strong sense of local pride, creativity, and community here that aligns perfectly with our values,” said Jake Williams, who owns the East Greenwich bakery. “We were drawn to the area’s vibrant small business culture and the opportunity to contribute something special.”
Nothing Bundt Cakes is also expected to open another bakery at Chapel View in Cranston later this year.
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