Labor

Re: Binding Arbitration Bill Made Public

By Carroll Andrew Morse | June 29, 2011 |

This is the current language in Rhode Island law on the right of public school teachers to strike…“Certified School Teachers’ Arbitration”, 28-9.3-1(b) It is declared to be the public policy of this state to accord to certified public school teachers the right to organize, to be represented, to negotiate professionally, and to bargain on a…

Binding Arbitration Bill Made Public

By Marc Comtois | June 29, 2011 |

The arbitration bill has been made public (PDF) along with a press release explaining the rationale. A “Last Best Offer – Final Package” model has been added: The legislation changes the arbitration process to one in which the complete “Last Best Offer” from both teachers’ unions and management is considered in its entirety, as opposed…

Standards for State Employment? Who’d Have Thought?

By Justin Katz | June 29, 2011 |

An op-ed from Common Cause Rhode Island Executive Director John Marion raises one of those issues that is apt to make the average Rhode Islander wonder why things don’t work that way already: The key to solving this [hiring] problem [in the General Assembly] is to put in place sound human-resources practices — in this…

Everybody Wants Action

By Justin Katz | June 28, 2011 |

Everybody’s telling us to call our legislators. An email from the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition (RISC): THE WORST SCENARIO IS NOW UPON US, AS RISC HAS WARNED. IF THERE WERE EVER A TIME TO PICK UP YOUR PHONE OR EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATOR, IT IS NOW! THE LABOR UNIONS HAVE STRUCK A DEAL WITH HOUSE AND…

Binding Arbitration = Tax Hike

By Marc Comtois | June 28, 2011 |

The House and Senate Labor Committees will be conducting simultaneous hearings and votes on binding arbitration laws tomorrow. A fait accompli? Probably. Tim Duffy, executive director of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees, whose organization opposes the legislation on grounds that it would make local taxpayers liable for the decisions of an unelected panel,…

Teacher Union Logic… Maybe It’s Me

By Justin Katz | June 27, 2011 |

There are a number of weird statements in this article about the Providence Teacher Union’s attempts to protect seniority-based hiring. First is this statement, which I’m not sure is entirely meant to say what it does but indicates a mentality that surely exists in the public school system: The new BEP is designed to ensure…

The Value of a Dream Job

By Justin Katz | June 27, 2011 |

An agreement appears to be near completion that would prevent the layoffs of 75 Providence police officers, but Friday’s human interest story in the Providence Journal — highlighting young officers’ sense of their “dream jobs” — touches on broader considerations pertaining to public-sector workers: By March, [Sean Lafferty and Matthew McGloin] were named Officers of…

In and Out of the Public Sector

By Justin Katz | June 24, 2011 |

The conversation was mainly of Esserman and arbitration when Monique called in to the Matt Allen Show, on Wednesday. Stream by clicking here, or download it.

Yes, Let’s Address the Problem

By Justin Katz | June 21, 2011 |

I have to express agreement with this comment that Project Future 2000 and Beyond founder Osiris Harrell made during discussion of the proposed Cranston mayoral academy: “Public schools can be fixed if you people focused on what’s wrong with the public schools, instead of spending all this time in trying to reinvent the wheel,” Harrell…

A Glimpse Behind the Union Curtain

By Justin Katz | June 15, 2011 |

We’ve all made such mistakes as the Internet allows… replying too quickly for rationality to assert itself, sending mail to the wrong person, accidentally forwarding a conversation thread to parties with whom we shouldn’t share them. When RI AFL-CIO President George Nee accidentally replied to an email by Providence Journal columnist Ed Achorn that he…