Union leaders reject deal to stop RI shutdown
Alternative content
Governor Plans Layoffs
Council 94 rejects an agreement to avoid a shutdown; Gov. Don Carcieri says he'll turn to layoffs to achieve the savings he wants.
Associated Press Writer
Published: September 23, 2009
Updated: September 24, 2009
NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The heads of Rhode Island’s largest state employees’ union on Wednesday rejected a deal struck with Gov. Don Carcieri’s administration to avoid a shutdown of state government or 1,000 layoffs, prompting the governor to say he’d go ahead with the firings - though likely on a smaller scale.
Joe Peckham, acting executive director of Council 94, which represents 4,000 state workers, said the union’s roughly two dozen presidents rejected the deal by a wide margin, even though negotiators had recommended they approve it.
Carcieri said several other unions had agreed to the tentative deal. Those that didn’t would be subject to layoffs, he said, because the state is facing a $68 million budget gap.
“We’ve got to move forward ‘cause I’ve got to get the savings,“ he said. “We’re losing time.“
Carcieri said last month that he would shut down state government as one step to help close the deficit for the fiscal year ending in June.
He planned to order 80 percent of the state’s 13,500-member work force to stay home without pay for 12 days before July. But a judge put that plan on hold earlier this month after the union took the
state to court. After that, Carcieri said he would have no choice but to lay off 1,000 workers.
He didn’t specify Wednesday evening how many workers he planned to lay off but said he assumed it would be fewer than 1,000.
“It would seem to follow that logic,“ Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe said, but added that the administration first “needs to look at the numbers.“
The deal approved by other unions guaranteed that their members would be protected from layoffs until June 2011, leaders of two of those unions said.
Carcieri encouraged Council 94’s members to join the agreement. Council 94 President J. Michael Downey said its leadership was still willing to negotiate, although the governor said he was done bargaining.
Peckham said he was bracing for the governor to take the worst possible action, but said there were other ways, such as raising taxes on the wealthy or curbing the use of private contractors, to accomplish the same ends.
“State workers have given enough. For the past two and a half, three years they have given and given and given,“ he said.
Rhode Island has struggled for years with massive budget deficits, and in recent years has laid off workers, cut retirement benefits and forced workers to forgo pay raises, among other steps.
Under a compromise deal reached two weeks ago, state workers would lose 12 days of pay between now and June 2011. They would also put off a planned pay raise. In return, they would get more
vacation time and could get some lost pay back when they retire or leave their jobs.
That plan stalled when Carcieri said he wanted more freedom to move state workers from one job to another.
After several more days of negotiations, the sides struck a tentative deal around midnight Tuesday that would allow Carcieri to reassign state employees to different jobs, said Philip Keefe, president of the Rhode Island Alliance of Social Service Employees Local 580. Unionized workers with more seniority would have greater protections against being moved than less experienced workers, he said.
Keefe said he believes the compromise is good because it protects employees from layoffs and will keep government open for its citizens. He said the executive board of his union, which represents 850 to 900 state workers, would decide tomorrow whether to send it to its members for a vote.
Frank Ciccone, business agent for Local 808 of the Laborers International Union of North America, said Council 94’s decision did not affect his union, which had already accepted the deal.
“Was everyone happy? No,“ said Ciccone, who is also a state senator. “It’s something that we feel we might be able to live with.“
Associated Press writers Michelle R. Smith and Ray Henry contributed to this report.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
kennethknk, a “scab” or “rat” in union terms is someone who crosses a picket line, not a non-union worker.
Having lived through the Almac’s mess, I know private company, but there were similarities, I can tell you this. When the money ran out, our contract wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. When it’s gone, it’s gone.
i work for the stats and i personally am glad they rejected this proposal. first of all we have a contract by re opening the contract shows we are and were willing to try and help. second those language about relocation does not have anything to with saving money its just a way for gov don to get one more thing he wants that he couldnt get in the original contract. that language makes it possible for the administration to move people around as they wish and eventually try to make the unions. third of all i know that some of the unions that agreed have clauses in their contractrs that state that relocationg is out of the question therefore it doesnot even affect them. i work my rear end off as do the people i work with, yes there are benefits of the working for the union raises, promotions, and job security. i say stand up to the gov keep up the good work unions
all i can say is should have taken the deal. so many people unemployed it’s time to get rid of the unions they don’t help at all this isn’t the 80s ditch them.
paula, my initial blog was about the unions and how outdated and unnecessary they are. You responded completely off track to blame the governor. The only thing I said about the governor was that these problems have been going on for far more than 8 years, that was not giving him a free ride. Than you came back and called me a liar stating you did think I was a blue collar worker ( I assume you mean at any time in my career), and again, I stayed on track, and restated that I still felt that the unions were nothing but babysitters and that only a very small % of the national work force belongs to them (only 12 % I believe, pretty minimal) and that your support for the union, based on these numbers, was in the minority. Again stating that the problems in the state have been around far longer than 8 years.
So who is getting off track in their rants here? Could it be you? Yes it could.
To your point however, I would not get mad for your naive believe that unions offer security, but there have been and will continue to be state and city layoffs, the RI economy is getting worse not better, so there will be no way around it. Security? I think not. Ask the union workers at GM or Chrysler how secure they were after the massive layoffs (which were going on for years). Most of them are still out of work, almost all were union workers. Job Security??
Also, you must have me confused with a Republican, I am not. Nor am a huge supporter of the governor. While I do like some of the things he has done for the state, I certainly do not like other things, like some of the things you have mentioned in your blog. Don’t listen to all your union propaganda that if someone dislikes the union they are a Republican, that is simply not true. Going back to you point in your blog about 8 years of contracts signed by the governor, I could not agree more! How in the world could he have signed these union contracts that were completely unsustainable in the first place, you are correct with that! I would like answers.
So go back to your Jim Jones union way of thinking and drink some more kool aide. We are in agreement on some things, but can agree to disagree on other things.
And Kennethknk, calling a non union worker a scab or a rat, has absolutely no meaning what so ever. Most younger workers today would not even know what you are talking about with these names. Another example of how antiquated the unions are. And please try to make at least a little sense with your posts, just a little.
THIS WAS IN THE HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL TODAY:
Read all the way to the bottom of the article where it mentions RI!!
CT loses ground on Forbes’ “best states’’ list
Today
————————————————————————————————————————
Connecticut ranks 35th - just behind Massachusetts - among the nation’s best places for business in 2009, losing ground from its ranking a year earlier, according to Forbes.com.
New England states overall showed poorly—with Rhode Island placing dead last—on the latest ranking by the business-information publisher.
Virginia topped the list at No.1.
Georgia, where engine-maker Pratt & Whitney Co. is moving some of the 1,000 jobs it is cutting from Connecticut, ranks No. 6.
Forbes.com said today its 2009 ranking measures six vital categories for businesses: costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, current economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. It also factored in 33 different points of data to determine the ranks in the six main areas.
Business costs that include labor, energy and taxes were weighted the most heavily, Forbes said.
Connecticut ranked near the bottom in four of six major categories.
According to Forbes, the state is 45th in business costs; 18th in labor supply; 33rd in regulatory environment; 31st in economic climate; and 37th in growth prospects.
Connecticut’s best showing was in quality of life at No. 3, behind No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 Massachusetts.
Rounding out New England, Forbes ranked New Hampshire No. 19 overall for business, just ahead of its 20th spot a year ago; Massachusetts improved to No. 34 from 36th place; Maine rose to No. 41 from 46th; Vermont was No. 47, down from 36th; and Rhode Island was No. 50, down from No. 45 last year.
RHODE ISLAND IS DEAD LAST: 50th in the NATION!! The WORST state in the country for a business to be located.
So here’s my question….If you lose your job, your company leaves the state, or your looking for a better job, what do you do if you live in RI?
ANSWER: LEAVE THE STATE…there are no jobs, and NONE are coming to save your #$%@!!
VOTE THE BUMS OUT IN RI & WASHINGTON!!
Take back your country before they take away your vote!!
OK! How much is the fighting for the state workers frlough costing the state as it is, court cost, lawyers, and the such? All of us hard working people of this state are going to pay for the dispute between the govenor and the state unions. How long is this going to continue. Like I have said before, If the unions do not see that many other private entities are also making cuts including pay cuts and furloughs (which I have also) and kep their jobs. Oh yea and dont forget I will not gt those days back when I leave my company…..What are these union reps thinking?????
Wake up smell the coffee! We are in a crisis along with the rest of the country.
I address the following to the parties at the table of negotiatings:
1. Get over this hump!
2. Come to an agreement!
3. STICK TO IT! No more of this tenative agreement bull crap!
After reading all these posts, can I ask if there is a forum for all of you to post your ideas on how to fix this state? Let’s start with the obvious: 1) New Gov 2) New Legislature 3) No unions 4) Layoff state workers 4) Tax the rich 5) Close the landfill 6) Break all state union contracts 7) One school region 8) RI corporations give back tax breaks 9) Everyone should use spellcheck. Some good ideas some bad. Looks like the start of a e-tea party!!!
tiredofri: I am truly sorry for your dilemma, but I assure you the reason for your denial was based on income and not family structure. Unfortunately, I agree with you that the system is not set up correctly. There are many people that we turn away and it really is not fair. However, the prevailing theory that illegal aliens are the people that benefit from social service programs is not at all true. Do you know how long a person must be in this country to qualify for food assistance??
Maybe because I worked my butt off all my life so when I lost my job I was making more then Minimum wage. Oh wait could it be I’m a US citizen & speak English? Skittish I do know what I am talking about. I was denied medical years ago when my son was 6 I was getting divorced.
tiredofri: EXCUSE ME!!!! I know that is not true. There are plenty of applicants that meet the guidelines and are single. Clearly there are other circumstances as to why you and your friends were denied benefits….
Advertisement