Labor

Why the Proposed Teachers’ Health Insurance Board is an Unconstitutional Violation of Separation of Powers

By Carroll Andrew Morse | January 4, 2010 |

A non-trivial question concerning the new teachers’ health insurance board proposed by the legislature but opposed by the Governor is which branch of government it would belong to. It’s obviously not the judiciary. And as currently structured, the board cannot be an offshoot of the legislature. A legislature has no power to delegate its statewide…

Re: Is a New Way for Labor to Limit the Options

By Justin Katz | January 3, 2010 |

Turning on my home computer after a weekend on the road, I was relieved and concerned to see the legislative bomb that Andrew has spotted. Relieved that we’ve come across this in time to shine some light. Concerned because I recall glancing at these bills back when they were on the agenda and making the…

The Members’ Interests Are Not Primary

By Justin Katz | December 28, 2009 |

Mike, of Assigned Reading, noticed a strange omission of activism on the part of his and other teachers’ unions: Teachers enjoy some of the best benefits available. And as a result, we working class Americans will be subjected to a 40% premium tax, a punishment for having healthcare plans better than most Americans. One would…

If the Legislation Weren’t So Irredeemably Stupid…

By Justin Katz | December 18, 2009 |

… I’d wonder whether we had an effect on this issue. Governor Carcieri has vetoed the apprenticeship gift to large, union contractors legislation: In accordance with the provisions of Section 14, Article IX of the Constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Section 42-1-4 of the Rhode Island General laws, I transmit, with my…

We Need a Taxpayer Grievance

By Justin Katz | December 7, 2009 |

How can an entity — whether a business, a town, a nonprofit, whatever — operate like this? [Little Compton Firefighter Fred] Melnyk was off duty at the time, out of uniform, and had been in the fire-station earlier at 11:16 when the medical incident in question was called in. An emergency medical technician (EMT) with…

A Process of Suffocation

By Justin Katz | December 5, 2009 |

The relationship is perhaps not entirely direct, but two stories from last Saturday’s paper strike me as thematically related. First: Because of poor design and construction and lack of maintenance, the underground parking garage at the Providence railroad station has suffered so much structural damage caused by leaking water that the state Department of Transportation…

Regionalization Won’t Make the Unions Go Away… Quite the Opposite

By Justin Katz | December 4, 2009 |

Somehow, this strikes me as a preview of the “benefits” of regionalization in Rhode Island: Just hours after he closed the Douglas Avenue fire station, Mayor Charles A. Lombardi ran into a legal stumbling block from the firefighters union Wednesday afternoon and he agreed to temporarily reopen the station. … Firefighters want [Providence County Superior…

The Union Shadow Government

By Justin Katz | November 30, 2009 |

The “must read” label is a bit too easy to throw around, but a post on BigGovernment.com concerning union expansion — like a cancer in the canals of government bureaucracies — deserves it. We begin with this reminder of a peculiar story that some of you might have heard recently: This past September Lisa Snyder,…

The Focus of the Advocates

By Justin Katz | November 27, 2009 |

Julia Steiny’s column last Sunday focused on declining numbers of students in Rhode Island, but the paragraphs on the cause stick in the mind: Mather elaborates, “In general terms, people leave New England because of job growth elsewhere. Many young people go to New England for college, but when they’re finished or ready to start…

Losing Sleep Over and Paying Attention to Education

By Justin Katz | November 24, 2009 |

I’ve got a letter in the online version of the Sakonnet Times (prospectively in the print edition out tomorrow) that begins thus: Residents who wish to understand the gradual deterioration of Rhode Island’s public school system need only contrast school committee meetings addressing two issues: teacher contract negotiations and abysmal standardized testing results. The passion…