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RIBCO
News
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2006-11-21
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RIBCO Update - On The Election & Contract |
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On behalf of the RIBCO Executive Board and Lieutenant Governor Fogarty, who personally called me to thank me for the efforts of our membership, I would like to thank everyone who volunteered during the campaign. It is clear that all of labor in Rhode Island turned out at the polls to support the Democratic Party. This support has been acknowledged by the people who matter most, the “decision makers.” Our hard work in getting the vote out resulted in almost a clean sweep. The loss in the Governor’s race was especially disappointing having lost by less than 8,000 votes. Had Charlie Fogarty been successful, I believe all of labor would have been better off. I also believe that RIBCO would have been able to resolve our contract dispute and the lack of competent leadership in our department. I am proud of the efforts we put forth on behalf of Charlie. He took on a Governor with a high approval rating, who had made his political career by demonizing the hard working men and women of the state of Rhode Island, and almost pulled off a major upset. We will continue our attempts to develop a working relationship with Governor Carcieri. We have sent a congratulatory letter and have also requested a meeting with him to make him aware of some of the difficulties that RIBCO members currently face. Problems which include working without a contract for more than three years and without a pay raise for over four years, working without appropriate fire protection, and working without the respect and support of a director who makes our jobs sometimes difficult, but also extremely dangerous.
Congratulations are in order for Larry Ceresi on winning a seat on the North Kingston School Committee. Larry has already demonstrated his willingness to tackle the difficult issues by calling for the removal of the present school superintendent. Larry is a lieutenant at Medium Security. We wish him all the best in his new endeavor.
The big question now that the election is over is what is RIBCO going to do to about getting a contract? The fact of the matter is that our options have not changed. We are forced to wait for a decision from Judge Fortunato on which arbitration statue we will proceed under. In either case RIBCO is prepared to go forth immediately. We have nationally recognized economists prepared to testify on our behalf. We have commissioned and received an independent study which compares salaries, benefits and job responsibilities between the Rhode Island Corrections Department, the Connecticut Corrections Department, the Massachusetts Corrections Department, the Rhode Island State Police and other major police departments in our state. Our witnesses are scheduled and prepared and our exhibits are ready to advance our case.
If Judge Fortunato rules that the arbitration statue is advisory, we will go to arbitration. If he rules that the arbitration statue is binding we will go to arbitration. If the state appeals a ruling on a favorable binding statue, it will be decision time! At that time we will “weigh” all of our options. Options that will be thoroughly presented to all of you.
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