Labor
Like the swapping of high-paying public jobs for the sons of union leaders, the fact that Cranston is currently paying $67,107-86,778 annual pensions to six former police chiefs feels emblematic of the state’s broader systemic corruption: In the past 20 years, Cranston has hired — and retired — six police chiefs. Most served three years…
Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, might just get to the heart of the pension/retirement issue when he explains the following, by way of arguing that the U.S. Post Office is a profitable enterprise: Congress requires the postal service to put $5.5 billion of its earnings each year into a separate…
Maybe it’s just an overzealous union leader, but it’s hard to believe that this isn’t a parody: The Scranton police union has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the city for an off-duty drug arrest made by Police Chief Dan Duffy in March. The complaint, which was filed with the state Labor Relations Board…
Charles Wales, of Cranston, makes the argument that they were, indeed, the bad old days back before public-sector unionization: Yes, they were indeed bad times: Elected and many non-elected persons held sway over municipal departments. Favors, assignments and promotions were granted, often without the smallest indication that merit was considered. Lackeys, sycophants and toadies were…
Rhode Island Association of School Committees Executive Director Tim Duffy commented as follows to the post in which I suggested that pension problems are a self-inflicted wound among governments, especially local governments: The wound is not a locally self-inflicted one. School committees are not responsible for pension debt. We do not negotiate these benefits with…
Earlier today, the pension review board was presented with an actuarial study concerning the RI Pension system. After the presentation, the board voted 9-6 to reduce the assumed rate of return on pension investments from 8.25% to 7.5%, which was the figure recommended by the study. The ProJo has the roll call: • General Treasurer…
Yes, a bill is a long way from a law, and this one, which Andrew caught the other day, has only one sponsor, Spenser Dickinson (D, South Kingstown), but it really is quite a suggestion: When a contractor employing members of a recognized union and providing services for more than twenty (20) hours a week…
Not to belabor the conversation about high-priced union executives, but certain aspects highlighted in our comment section point directly toward one of Rhode Island’s major problems. As Marc mentioned, yesterday, the head of Local 1033 of the Laborers’ International Union, representing 900 municipal workers, Donald Iannazzi, makes $265,870. It’s worth pointing out that the city’s…
Sheesh. I just found out the CEO of a 900-employee operation, who just cut employee pay and increased their health care payments, pulls down $265,870 a year. And while his workers are all worried about pension problems and their retirement future, he’s looking to retire next year at 55 and has few of their worries.…
“Bill would help Teachers Retire Early” says the ProJo headline to Randall Edgar’s piece. Really? How about “Bill Would Increase State Pension Obligation”, because that’s what it really does. Looking to expand on an option that is already available to most public school teachers who have worked in private schools, state Sen. Frank A. Ciccone…
