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The desperation of public sector unions in the smallest and one of the most union-friendly (Democratic) states in the country, should fan the flames of all conservatives fed up with Big Labor rigging elections, buying votes

Little Rhody Beats Up Big Labor



Public sector unions have been taking it on the chin the last four years. Right-to-work legislation expanded business and prosperity in Indiana. Wisconsin’s Scott Walker diminished their funding streams and statehouse collusion though his popular yet controversial Act 10 collective bargaining reforms.
And yet today, California and Rhode Island (two states close to my heart and mind) remain the Alpha and Omega of public sector union dominance, as one Ocean State conservative told me. No one should be surprised at these two states are still in a bad state. California Governor Jerry Brown (when he had hair) expanded collective bargaining rights to public sector unions, and so did Rhode Island Governor John Chafee. This forced unionism is bankrupting these two states and implicates politicians, regardless of their partisan affiliation. A one-time Tea Party favorite, Pennsylvania’s Republican Governor Tom Corbett refused to take on public sector collective bargaining a la Scott Walker, and Corbett became “Dead Man Walking” in last year’s election. Earlier this year, a California state senator (a reform-minded Democrat on education) confided to me that there was no way any school reforms which I had prized could pass in Sacramento, unless the California Teachers Association was on board. Excuse me? Whatever happened to “We the People”? In Rhode Island, conservatives in their homes as well as lawmakers in the statehouse tell me the sorrows of public sector unions pulling the strings and pushing the right buttons to get their way. However, in spite of the chokehold which the liberal Democratic Party has on the smallest state in New England (and the Union), Rhode Islanders outspent and overtaxed have had enough and are pushing back. And their fight is getting national attention. The Daily Signal, media affiliate of the Heritage Foundation, reports:

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In a battle of political wills in Rhode Island, local voters so far have held their ground against efforts by union leaders and state officials to make them pay more for fire and rescue services. State lawmakers and local activists who side with the voters, however, see the situation as an ongoing threat to self-government. “The people have rejected higher taxes over and over again because they want a new way of doing business,” state Rep. Patricia Morgan, R-West Warwick, says.
Rep. Morgan reported to me all her efforts to stop Obamacare’s encroachment into the Ocean State. She even worked with Democrats who recognized that their already overblown and bankrupted state treasury could not afford the state healthcare exchange. Morgan told The Daily Signal about her efforts to stop tax increases on homeowners in the Coventry Fire District, a merger of four cities to control firefighter costs.
“It’s hard to get people to turn out for special elections,” Morgan says. “But we worked hard to spread the word, and once they understood how important this was, they began to turn out in droves.”
Not just local activists, but even in the Rhode Island statehouse, overrun with corruption (the previous Speaker went to jail for bribery and misuse of campaign funds), concerned voters are killing legislative pandering to unions. From the Daily Signal:
Taxpayers won a key battle with government workers unions this summer when one of Rhode Island’s top politicians withdrew two measures that would have financially rewarded career firefighters, reformers say. The union representing some of those firefighters pays him rent, they note. Leaders of firefighters unions had sought to bring out a big gun after the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled in favor of towns and other municipalities that wanted to limit overtime costs for firefighters. So they called on Rep. Nicholas “Nick” Mattiello, D-Cranston, speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives.
Mattiello (who himself faces heat for his connections to another set of corrupt deals) could not push through an egregious hike in overtime pay for firefighters in the bluest state in the union. More concerned citizens need to note: no matter what the numbers or voter registration, We the People can have the final say. From Coventry to Smith Hill, let us look at Westerly, Rhode Island, where part-time police have cried “Freeze!” to unjust agency fees (much like California teacher Rebecca Friedrichs). The National Right To Work Foundation, which promotes and applauds the anti-forced unionism efforts of local leaders and concerned lawmakers (and has advised me of my rights as an employee), spotlighted another key fight in Rhode Island:
Five part-time police officers in Westerly, RI have filed a Civil Rights lawsuit against the Town of Westerly, several town officials, and International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 503 (Local 503) in U.S. District Court. The plaintiffs are receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation. Thomas Cimalore, Anthony Falcone, Scott Ferrigno, Darrell Koza, and Raymond Morrone, brought the suit and seek declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief because a portion of every paycheck (at a rate of $5 an hour) is being confiscated by the town and paid directly to Local 503. The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs’ First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights (and other state labor and whistle blower protection statues) are violated when they are forced, as a condition of employment, to financially support Local 503 despite never authorizing or requesting that the town withhold a portion of their paycheck and distribute those funds to Local 503.
Justin Katz, a Rhode Island media and government watchdog, added:
Thomas Cimalore, Anthony Falcone, Scott Ferrigno, Darrell Koza, and Raymond Morrone brought the suit and seek declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief because a portion of every paycheck (at a rate of $5 an hour, or 13% of their pay) is being confiscated by the town and paid directly to Local 503.
Imagine anyone (besides the IRS) seizing 13% of your pay and without your permission?! It’s criminal. The desperation of public sector unions in the smallest and one of the most union-friendly (Democratic) states in the country, should fan the flames of all conservatives fed up with Big Labor rigging elections, buying votes, and controlling politicians at all lives.


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Arthur Christopher Schaper -- Bio and Archives

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

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