Unions

A man falls down stairs

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Stumbles in the State House and the Teacher Union Hall

By Justin Katz | August 30, 2021 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz talk about high-profile slip-ups by politicians and political actors.

A dark classroom

The problem with labor unions in education really is this obvious… and huge.

By Justin Katz | August 20, 2021 |

This exchange from a brief interview with the Boston Globe’s Dan McGowan is enough to prove retired teacher Michael Marra’s new book worth reading: Q: You’re a former schoolteacher who has become disenchanted with public employee unions. Did you start out that way or did something happen to change your mind? Marra: I didn’t start out that…

Glowing lights on the Sakonnet River Bridge

The infrastructure bill creates a net zero jobs.

By Justin Katz | August 12, 2021 |

Brad Polumbo reports for the Foundation for Economic Education: The promised long-term economic benefits from the sweeping $1 trillion expenditure will likely never materialize, according to a new Ivy League analysis. This runs directly against the president’s promises that it would create jobs and stimulate the economy. Indeed, Biden has insisted that the government spending…

A locked luggage box

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Boxed in by the Past

By Justin Katz | August 9, 2021 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz take on unprecedented developments in RI government and politics.

NEA-RI logo overshadows South Kingstown schools logo

The NEA suing Nicole Solas to stop records releases has a few intriguing possibilities.

By Justin Katz | August 9, 2021 |

William Jacobson is on to something when he suggests, on Legal Insurrection, that the National Education Association of Rhode Island’s lawsuit to stop release of public records in Rhode Island “smells collusive”: Whether there was “collusion” in the sense of active cooperation or not, I can imagine a scenario in which there is no real dispute…

The Providence teacher contract estimate should be 144% higher than stated.

By Justin Katz | August 4, 2021 |

It’s a positive thing that state law requires municipalities and school districts to provide cost estimates for the contracts they’re about to approve (even if they tend to issue them when it’s pretty much a done deal), and it’s good that the state hasn’t tried to slip through a transparency loophole in negotiating its contract…

A blurry streetscape

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Incompetent Optics

By Justin Katz | August 2, 2021 |

John and Justin talk about several ways in which Rhode Island’s political elite is trying to control how things appear (and what sort of politics the people are permitted to have).

Elorza confronts McKee

McKee’s classic union ploy with the Providence teacher contract isn’t progress; it’s an 11%-plus pay goose.

By Justin Katz | July 29, 2021 |

Or at least it’s only progress from the perspective of government insiders for whom a comfy working relationship is the only real goal.  Unfortunately, that’s the perspective that tends to set the tone for news coverage and public discussion. Tweeting about his first-to-go-live Boston Globe report on the deal, Dan McGowan used that very word,…

Support Your Local Planet Protest Sign

Why is public education one industry progressives won’t destroy in the name of justice?

By Justin Katz | July 20, 2021 |

With the various economic and education-related stories that have tumbled through my awareness lately, I had a somewhat random thought. We all know from the news that progressives will destroy entire industries — driving up costs for everybody in a regressive way, ruining their fellow Americans’ productive investments, telling workers to find other jobs —…

An underwater photo

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Growing Signs of Distrust

By Justin Katz | June 28, 2021 |

From a U.S. Senator to the news media to a local school committee, Rhode Islanders’ trust is slipping, but John DePetro and Justin Katz aren’t sure it’s enough to bring change.