Labor
The budget battle has come and gone, but one section of an op-ed that Independent state Senator Ed O’Neil published in May is worth considering: George Nee, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, has said publicly that we should give our state workers a chance to improve productivity. They know best how to get the…
Last night, Monique reviewed some Anchor Rising posts with guest host Tony Cornetta on the Matt Allen Show. Stream by clicking here, or download it.
The intention of the City of Providence to hire 72 new firefighters would make an interesting case study for anybody learning about public administration: When an hourly employee in the private sector quits, it is not unusual for the employer to put off hiring a replacement. Instead, the employer has another person pick up the…
The following e-mail was sent out recently, presumably to all members of the NEARI. Background: South Kingstown’s teacher contract expires at the end of August. Daniel Kinder, referenced in the e-mail, is the attorney advising the South Kingstown School Committee. Here is what the School Committee said recently about negotiations between the town and the…
I’m beginning to wonder whether all of the stories are like this or whether there’s some other reason so many of the people who step forward to be faces of the pension crisis seem unlikely to evoke sympathy. Here’s one from the hearing at which Central Falls Receiver Robert Flanders asked public-sector pensioners to agree…
It’s come up in the comment sections, but I’ve been meaning to comment on Michael Morse’s essay describing the ghosts that haunt the urban firefighter-EMT’s dreams after twenty years on the job since I first read it in early June. Michael puts those who focus on the affordability of public-sector pay and pensions in a…
Time will tell whether I’m an isolated cold heart or part of a growing swell, but I’m having trouble mustering the sympathy that the preferred storyline implies I should feel for public-sector pensioners. The “human angle” that the Providence Journal tried to emphasize in an article yesterday provides an excellent example: In fact, [Donald] Cardin,…
Under normal circumstances, this program might be an unalloyed positive, and I do believe that every student should have some familiarity with construction and trades: On Olmsted Way, a short street across from the Wanskuck Mill on Charles Street, 10 graduates of the YouthBuild Providence program are at work this summer, renovating 24 apartments in…
Commenter Michael responded to Justin’s statement from earlier in the week concerning “the faulty attitude under which the public sector has become corrupted” by saying… The public sector is not corrupted. These generalized comments, written as fact are what prompts me to draw the proverbial line in the sand and defend the public sector without…
I’m skeptical that anything substantial will come of the current push for pension reform among elected officials, but even if some positive change results, I’m concerned that elected officials and the public alike will wipe their hands together with a collective “problem solved.” This article explaining that growing pension costs promise to eat up whole…
