Front-line workers at Providence, R.I.-based Women & Infants Hospital protested April 26 over what they described as inaccessible vacation time, according to The Providence Journal.
The workers, which included nurses, are members of Service Employees International Union 1199 New England.
Union leaders said its members should be able to use their vacation time to take off holidays, per the union contract, but they are being blocked from doing so, The Providence Journal reported.
"It's very disheartening, because not too long ago we had flyers out here that said, 'Thank you, healthcare heroes,'" Kelli Price, a registered nurse in the critical care unit, told the newspaper, while citing the emotional, physical and mental toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on healthcare workers.
She also told The Providence Journal the hospital approved a week of vacation in July for one of her colleagues but told the individual they had to report to work on July 4, which is in the middle of the approved time off.
In a statement shared with Becker's, hospital spokesperson Raina Smith said, "Women & Infants Hospital's goal is to continue to be fair and equitable to all employees by following the language in the aligned-to union contracts."
Women & Infants is part of Providence-based Care New England.