Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Steve Ahlquist’s Substack on October 19. Reprinted with permission.
Two months after settling a contract with Care New England, and after enduring the longest hospital strike in Rhode Island history, Butler Hospital caregivers represented by SEIU 1199 NE partnered with the Blackstone Parks Conservancy and the Providence Parks Department on a multi-phase restoration project to replant the green space along Blackstone Boulevard to show their gratitude for using the park during the three-month strike.
Striking workers and supporters used a small section of the park, just outside the Butler Hospital campus, as a staging area for their picket line, a place to converse and plan, and a respite to relax and eat. This took its toll on the grass, so now they are working to restore the park.
Over the next three weekends, dozens of Butler caregivers will work alongside volunteers from Blackstone Parks Conservancy to prepare the soil, spread mulch, reseed the grass, and create a pollinator garden of native purple and gold flowers. Butler union members have raised $1,700 toward the restoration efforts, with a portion going toward the purchase of an oak tree to commemorate the strike.
I interrupted the gardening work of Butler Hospital caregiver Virgil Soares to ask about this effort:
Virgil Soares: Today, we’re coming together to give back, working with the Parks Conservancy and the Parks Department to bring this place back to life. We were out here for three months and gave it everything we had, so we beat up the ground a little bit. We want to bring it back to something beautiful.
Steve Ahlquist: You’re going to be replanting the grass…
Virgil Soares: First, we’re going to clean up the dirt. We’re trying to bring the dirt back to life, plant some new seeds, nice flowers, and stuff like that, so the area reminds us of our strike. I mean, we spent three months out here. We became a family out here.
Steve Ahlquist: Yes! I was told during the strike that people who would have never met on the job connected and became friends on the picket line.
Virgil Soares: Definitely. It was a hard moment, but also a moment that brought good to us.
Steve Ahlquist: I was so happy when the contract was settled and you all got to go back to work.
Virgil Soares: Being back at work and caring for our patients feels great.
Steve Ahlquist: I hope the neighborhood is grateful for the work you’re doing.
Virgil Soares: The support this neighborhood gave us – I mean – we can’t do enough for the support they gave us. We caused noise and slowed traffic, so it was tough for them. So we’re going to try to give back to them.
I also spoke to Carrie Drake, President of the Blackstone Parks Conservancy:
Steve Ahlquist: Will you tell me about the Blackstone Parks Conservancy?
Carrie Drake: The Blackstone Parks Conservancy is a volunteer group. We work with the Providence Parks Department on projects to help the Boulevard Park, where we are now, and the Blackstone Park Conservation District down by the river.
Butler workers reached out to us after the strike ended and said they wanted to give back to the boulevard. Sitting out here for many days, they watched the trees, enjoyed the shade, and came to love it. They wanted to help fix it and return it to what it was.
Steve Ahlquist: They did trample and kill some of the grass.
After they reached out, was it just a matter of finding the right time to do it?
Carrie Drake: We consulted with the Parks Department about what they recommended for the site. They recommended air spading, which is loosening the soil around the trees with an air hose. It looks like a pressure washer, but it’s air, to loosen the soil without harming the roots.
Steve Ahlquist: I live nearby and use this park all the time.
Carrie Drake: So you understand. I was concerned about the trees; they’ll be here forever if we care for them.
Steve Ahlquist: I feel terrible every time there’s a big storm and we lose a tree.
Carrie Drake: I know, but trees age out. The city forester said to me that trees have a three-part life cycle. In the beginning, they’re young. Then they mature, and then they’re senescing for the last third. And it’s a natural process, but it’s sad when they go.
These trees should be getting a boost. I’m not a forester, but I feel like we’re addressing some issues by fluffing up the earth around their roots.
Steve Ahlquist: You loosen up the soil so the trees can eat and drink a little easier?
Carrie Drake: Exactly. Compacted soil makes it harder for water to get to the roots. We’re adding some new loam to support the grass and nourish the trees a bit, and then the seeding will happen. You never know how that will take because the weather does what the weather does.
It could all wash away in the next storm. But if it doesn’t work, we’ll do it again in the spring. Given the mild weather, there’s a very good chance this will take.
Steve Ahlquist: Let’s be thankful for global warming.
I was told that the workers are also planting an oak tree.
Carrie Drake: Yes. The workers wanted to plant a tree nearby.
Steve Ahlquist: Maybe we can get a little plaque for it?
Carrie Drake: Any tree that’s donated gets a plaque. I mean, it’s not a plaque, it’s a tag. The tags don’t last forever because we hang them from a branch. As the branches get higher on the tree, you can no longer see it. It’s being planted on Monday, assuming the weather doesn’t become a problem. It’s supposed to rain.
District 1199 SEIU New England represents 29,000 health care and service workers in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Southeastern Massachusetts. In Rhode Island, 1199 SEIU NE represents almost 5,000 members. 1199 SEIU NE is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – a union of over 2 million members across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. SEIU has been a national leader in pushing the growing Fight for $15 and a Union movement.
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