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.

More: Concerned over pay, burnout, 950 Rhode Island resident doctors bid to join union

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.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien was sworn in for his eighth term Monday night, and shared his pitch to keep Hasbro in Rhode Island.

Years after the Pawtucket Red Sox left for Worcester, the city now faces the threat of another Pawtucket staple leaving town: Hasbro, Inc.

“Right now we’ve been having those honest conversations with them,” said Grebien. “They seem to be on hold for a little bit.”

Hasbro, a member of the Fortune 500, has been rooted in Rhode Island for nearly a century.

It’s headquarters are currently located in Pawtucket, but the company’s leadership is flirting with a move to Massachusetts.

“We’ve made it clear through the leadership on the council, myself, and our state delegation that we want them here,” Grebien said. “They belong in Pawtucket, we’re gonna do what we can to make that happen.”

Grebien said a major part of the Pawtucket’s pitch to Hasbro is a new hub developing in the city, focused around train service and the city’s new professional soccer team.

“We want to have them partner with the commuter rail and with Tidewater Stadium,” Grebien said. “To have an active zone where we’re developing, and they’ll be a part of that ground-up development.”

Grebien said he believes Rhode Island is the best fit for Hasbro.

“If they go to Mass., it really is about them, they’re lost in Mass,” he said. “Here they’re a big fish in a little pond, and I think they realize that.

“At the end of the day they’ve got to do what’s right for them,” Grebien continued. “We’ll support them either way.”

Governor Dan McKee has also been in communication with Hasbro, as officials attempt to keep the company in Rhode Island.

The I-195 Redevelopment District offered Hasbro exclusive rights to buy an acre of land in Providence for $1.

Hasbro has not yet responded publicly to the offer.