Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state Labor Relations Board is still scheduled to hear the city's teacher dispute tomorrow despite Mayor Joseph S. Larisa Jr.'s recent allegations that the board favors unions.

The School Committee is also continuing its lawsuit that asks the Superior Court to take the state agency completely out of the equation.

Filed last week, district officials believe a state law barring School Departments from operating in a deficit trumps any labor laws. It says the committee's January decision to reduce teachers' salaries by nearly 5 percent and force the educators to pay a portion of their health-insurance costs was made to keep from going further in the red.

"We wish the School Committee well in escaping that," Larisa said while updating the public during Tuesday night's City Council meeting. When he spoke last month, Larisa predicted the city would lose before the state board because, he said, it is biased.

On Tuesday, he said an independent review of the board's cases proved his claim. The Ocean State Policy Research Institute -- a conservative policy group led by William Felkner, a Hopkinton Town Council member -- recently researched the board's 19 cases since 2006.

Seven "contained substantive rulings that impact management-labor interactions" and every one of the state board's rulings was in favor of labor unions. The total scorecard is 15 wins for labor and 4 wins for management, the institute said.

"Couldn't management just be wrong all those times?" Felkner said in a news release. "When looking carefully at the basis for decisions, what we found was that when past practices support labor's position they are controlling, but when they support management's position they fall short. Every case is different but the weight that the board places on various theories and precedent are like a finger on the scale, and there can be no doubt it is tipping towards labor."

Said Larisa, "The point is clear, what I said [earlier] is correct.... The cat is out of the bag."

When contacted yesterday, Robyn H. Golden, administrator for the state Labor Relations Board, had no comment about the allegations or the East Providence case. She only said tomorrow's hearing is "still on."

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

 Tags  East Providence RI

Comments

Dan said:

Nothing like a self-serving study to put the finger on the scale. Is Larisa's ego bruised because of the US Supreme Court selection. If you have a sound case based upon the law, present it to the Board, otherwise, save your hot air for your next campaign.

Link | March 18, 2009 8:31 PM
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