Labor & Workers
Labor unions, workers' rights, and employment
The minimum wage in Rhode Island will be $15 - in 2025
"This pro-family legislation will raise wages for 112,000 Rhode Island workers who have spent the last year keeping our state afloat. We know that a $15 minimum wage will make a big difference in the lives of workers, help close the pay gap, and boost the economy, as it has in other states."
Rising inequality and stagnant wages was the goal of government policy says EPI report
Far from being the unfortunate and unavoidable result of apolitical market forces such as technological change and automation, wage stagnation is the direct result of a rigged system - policy choices made by the government in collusion with business and corporate opportunists.
A $15 minimum wage is within Rhode Island's grasp - But there's more to do
“We were able to pass this bill because of the years and years of hard work of so many Rhode Islanders who have been advocating for economic justice,” said Representative Ranglin-Vassell. "And while I want to take this moment to thank them for their hard work and congratulate all the working people whose burdens will be lightened as this bill takes effect, we still have far to go. The ‘fight for $15’ has been going on for so long that $15 is not really a living wage anymore. $15 is the floor, not the ceiling, and we cannot and must not stop working to ensure that Rhode Islanders who work full time can make ends meet."
CUPS organizing story: From unionization to worker-owned co-op café
The story of CUPS Cooperative - a worker owned, unionized Providence Café - in pictures.
Report: Inadequate staffing levels and low caregiver wages magnified nursing home crisis
The Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act (S0002, H5012) will alleviate the staffing crisis by setting a minimum staffing standard of 4.1 hours of care per resident day while creating a living wage for caregivers and needed training opportunities.
Shred-It workers in Pawtucket choose Teamsters Local 251
“We knew better than to fall for the company’s lies. I applaud my co-workers for sticking together.”
Assessing the claims of anti-minimum wage lobbyists
When our elected representatives allow themselves to be deceived by the self serving claims of lobbying organizations like the NFIB at the cost of the people they represent, they need to be held accountable.
As General Assembly convenes, nursing home workers rally for safe staffing and fair wages
"The General Assembly's failure to pass this legislation has perpetuated a racist system of poverty wages and unsafe conditions for a workforce that is disproportionately immigrant women of color."
Workers at Carvalho Grove nursing home in Fall River picket for hazard pay during Covid outbreak
"All we want is to be treated fairly and to be able to take care of our residents and our families safely. Frontline caregivers have scarified a lot throughout this horrible pandemic - we need our employer to give us the respect and the dignity we deserve by compensating us with fair hazard pay."
Press Release: More school bus workers join Teamsters Local 251
“These workers safely transport our most precious cargo, our children, to school every school day," said Matt Taibi, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 251.