CVS Caremark Corp. and the United Food & Commercial Workers union have signed a five-year cooperation agreement giving CVS/pharmacy employees at roughly 500 stores in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego the opportunity to vote on whether or not they want to be represented by the union. more

Rhode Island and Massachusetts both had fewer union members in 2012 than in 2011, according to a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday. more

Three-hundred and ninety-nine nurses and union members picketed outside the Dudley Street entrance of Women & Infants Hospital on April 11, calling on the Providence hospital to lift its hiring freeze and fill vacant positions with permanent, local workers instead of hiring temporary, subcontracted “traveler” nurses. more

Working with a brand-new hospital union and coming out on the positive side of an employee survey. Revamping an entire emergency department – an offshoot of a malpractice case. Establishing a breast health center. Creating an alliance with a major Boston hospital. All that would be a lot to accomplish over many years, but Sandra L. Coletta did it in just four. Coletta, president and CEO of Kent Hospital in Warwick, took the job in 2008, after putting in 25 years at The Miriam Hospital and Lifespan. And for her efforts, Coletta was named an Industry Leader in the category of health care services. more

Leaders of the largest U.S. union of public-sector workers are vowing to fight efforts by state and local governments to balance their budgets with cuts to employee benefits even as voters have sided with that strategy. more

The city of Warwick has reached new, three-year contracts with the city’s fire and police unions, Mayor Scott Avedisian announced Monday. more

Monday evening, the Warwick City Council unanimously approved three contracts with the city’s municipal employee, police and firefighters’ unions. more

Superior Court Associate Justice Sarah Taft-Carter has issued a ruling that Providence’s pension settlement is “fair, reasonable and adequate,” according to a statement released today by Providence Mayor Angel Taveras. more

Union organizers and community leaders rallied for Brown University dining service employees and Rhode Island janitors who are campaigning for new contracts in a Labor Day gathering at the school’s College Hill campus Monday. more

As part of a nationwide Black Friday protest, Walmart workers and community allies plan to gather at Walmart retail stores across Rhode Island and Massachusetts on Black Friday. more