Labor
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’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…
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,…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
Can’t say I buy the rationale that Eloise Wyatt offers for preserving seniority policies among public school teachers: By eliminating seniority you get rid of the protection that lets teachers speak, up and stand up when an administration is hurting children. In my time as a special-education teacher in Providence, it was common for administration…
My situation may be unique (although I doubt it), but one of the consequences of Rhode Island’s political and economic structure is that it is so darn difficult just to get by and raise a family that little time remains to keep a consistently watchful eye on local political corruption. Such has been the case…
