Marc Comtois
Expect a run on Portugese Water Dogs. We have a Senator striving to form a “Truth Commission.” Brilliant, name. Sheesh. We have a Representative calling his state’s Supreme Court a “disgrace” because they…followed the law? We have a tribal leader who can’t give up the ghost of a casino (even if he won’t say that’s…
Many have probably already seen this, but it’s profound enough to post here:
For perspective (which ever way that you, dear reader, wish to take it), here is a quick comparison of the re-negotiated Warwick contracts. Warwick Mayor Avedesian and his administration re-negotiated the fire, police and municipal contracts (pending City Council approval this Friday) and extended them to 2012. (In September 2008), the Warwick School Committee and…
When we here about 3% raises in union contracts, what does that mean? Seems obvious: people will make 3% more next year over this. But with union contracts, that’s not the case. In most union contracts with which I’m familiar, each position has a defined table of step increases based on years served. When we…
Citing various rules, laws and those pesky “open meeting” requirements, the Warwick City Council moved to consider the tentative agreements between the City and the members of the municipal, police and fire unions at a later date so that the public would have a chance to review. The Finance Committee will hold a hearing on…
Here’s a snapshot analysis of the tentative agreement between the City of Warwick and the fire, police and municipal unions, based on info from various sources. The Good: Pay cuts: Pay cuts of 5% for police, 3.5% for firefighters, 3% for municipal employees for the duration of this fiscal year. No raises in FY 2010;…
Warwick Mayor Scott Avedesian was on WPRO with Jim Hummel (filling in for Dan Yorke) to explain the recent tentative agreement between the City of Warwick and the municipal, fire and police unions. (What follows is a raw, running liveblog) Mayor Avedesian stated that the negotiations started before Christmas based on how it looked economically.…
Following up on Justin’s post “Avedesian Locks in…Savings?“, only a government official would consider “savings” to be a reduction in the “normal” INCREASE that the public sector has come to expect as essentially a birthright. Despite what Mayor Avedesian says, this isn’t a “savings” of $10 million, it is a reduction in what the “normal”…
Both Justin and I have recently posted about the RI employment market, with a particular focus on manufacturing jobs. In the February 23 edition of National Review, Jim Manzi has an interesting piece on the decline of manufacturing in the U.S. Except, as Manzi explains, it hasn’t. Manufacturing jobs have declined, but output is the…
Growing up in northern Maine, no week was bigger than Tournament Week–what we call February vacation here in Rhode Island. It is still a big deal. Basketball teams and their supporters congregate at the Bangor Auditorium from all over the northern 3/4s of the state, all for the purpose of representing “Eastern Maine” in the…