Making Rhode Island public schools great for every child!
Posted: The Senate today passed the Education Jobs Bill which will bring over $33.7 million to Rhode Island. This money is to be used to rehire educational employees that have been laid off or new staff and will help keep class size down around the nation. Both of Rhode Island's senators, as had our representatives,...

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Posted: The East Providence Education Association ratified their contract this afternoon. The school committee is scheduled to vote on Tuesday.
Posted: After 13 hours, a TA in East Providence. Membership meeting Monday and NEARI Executive Committee conference call Monday at 5. Committee members need to check emails late tomorrow morning.
Posted: The East Providence Education Association continues their negotiations with the school committee this morning. This is an opportunity for the SC and teachers to reach an agreement and start to move forward and rebuild some trust in EP. The 11,000 members of NEARI remain rock solid in their support of...

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Posted: NEARI members will be joining with members from other unions at the State House today  to oppose the changes to our COLA passed by the House Finance Committee last Thursday. It is time for your voice to be heard. We are asking NEARI members to come to Providence after work today to lobby against these...

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Posted: News outlets are reporting that Rhode Island was not a winner in the RTTT grant application during the first round. Delaware and Tennessee are the two reported winners. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that there was a strong emphasis on states with large union support, which Rhode Island did not...

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Posted: The United States Department of Education will announce tomorrow, Monday, at 1 PM the first round winners for the Race to the Top grant. NEARI President Larry Purtill said that either way he hopes the commissioner understands she must work with us for any program to be successful. Purtill will notify...

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Posted: It appears that Central Falls' teachers will be back at the table to bargain contractual items that could pave the way for teachers to be reinstated. Check back here tomorrow for more details.
Posted: President Larry Purtill did a five minute interview this evening that will air on Good Morning America tomorrow. He said teachers were disappointed in President Obama's comments today and he encouraged the President and Secretary to encourage mediation. Purtill added that many on both sides of the issue...

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Posted: Rally this afternoon in support of the teachers and against the attack on collective bargaining and public education in Central Falls. Send a message to the three G's that firing all of the district's 74 teachers does not make sense and certainly does not move education forward.(Governor, Gist and Gallo) ...

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Posted: The Superintendent of Central Falls High School is threatening to fire all 74 teachers if the local union does not agree to her demands. Commissioner Gist and Governor Carcieri have said they fully support Gallo. Central Falls High School has been a struggling school for years but firing all the teachers...

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Posted: There will be another reading of Race to the Top tonight at 8:30 PM at the Rhode Island Department of Education. There have been a few chances, or at least that is what has been communicated, but the basic content remains the same, only with the time period extended by two years. Yesterday morning NEARI...

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Posted: The application for Race to the Top continues to remain one that NEARI can not support. There are numerous points in the document to contest, but the fact that evaluations would be based 51% on test scores and the push for the growth of charter schools and especially mayoral academies is offensive to...

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Posted: NEARI and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals continue to oppose the state's application for Race to the Top grant money. Under the current proposal, a teachers evaluation will be based 51% on student achievement, step system would be done away with, certification tied directly...

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Posted: NEARI and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals continue to oppose the state's application for Race to the Top grant money. Under the current proposal, a teachers evaluation will be based 51% on student achievement, step system would be done away with, certification tied directly...

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Posted: Happy New Year to you all and regular blogging is back for 2010. The Race to the Top grant application requires local districts to sign on through a Memorandum of Understanding to be eligible for the money and that includes participation by the local union. NEARI has been working with the AFT to be sure...

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Posted: Eight years and the Governor keeps singing the same song. This time he has made new friends by going after state police officers and judges. A proposed (Remember the Legislature has to pass all this) $41 million dollar cut in education aid and the elimination of COLA's. He does not seem to understand...

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Posted: President Larry Purtill is looking for NEARI members to serve on a new committee dealing with technology and communications. We know that members check this blog, like the robo calls and emails, but Purtill is interested in the next wave of communicating with members, especially new and younger members....

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Posted: Last night the Westerly School Committee, in a 4-3 vote, rejected the tentative agreement that teachers had already ratified. The agreement containd several major concessions by the teachers, including monetary items. The four caved to the pressure of groups such as the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition...

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Posted: Come join us tomorrow, Saturday, at Goddard Park for the NEARI 5k road race and 1 mile walk. The race helps raise money for the NEARI Children's Fund. Two hundred runners/walkers are expected, so come join the fun. Race starts at 10 and looks like a beautiful, cool, sunny day.
Posted: Call Speaker Murphy, 222-2466, and House Majority Leader Fox, 222-2447, and tell them to pass binding arbitration for teachers when the General Assembly meets tomorrow and Thursday. It will end strikes, end work to rule, and stop costly legal fees, such as the over $700,000 spent in East Providence....

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Posted: After four months of waiting, the General Assembly is back in session tomorrow and again, one of the bills they may be considering is binding arbitration for teachers. It will end strikes, work to rule and eliminate expensive legal costs. While it is frustrating at this late date to still not have the...

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Posted: Executive Director Bob Walsh and President Larry Purtill testified yesterday in the House Labor Committee's six hour hearing on binding arbitration. Both answered many concerns about the bill and while a vote was not taken, it is still very much alive for the House session next Wednesday and Thursday....

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Posted: The House Labor Committee heard 6 hours of testimony yesterday on binding arbitration but did not vote. A final bill still needs discussion, modifications and amendments. It is critical members continue to call, especially members of House Labor. Committee members and talking points are here on the web.Check...

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Posted: Today is the hearing before House Labor (In Senate Room 313 at 2 PM)Connecticut has binding arbitration and has not had a strike in 30 years. Only 12 % of negotiations actually end up in arbitration and arbitrated financial settlements are lower than negotiated. The other side has no basis for their...

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Posted:

It is never too late to contact your reps about the hearing tomorrow on binding arbitration. Talking points etc. are all here on the web. Do not let them use the excuse they did not hear from you!! You are and can make a difference.

 

Posted: The hearing on binding arbitration is still scheduled for 2 PM tomorrow in House Labor. You need to call your rep and tell them how important it is and that disruptions we have seen in the past and situations such as East Providence is going through can easily be prevented. Talking points are listed...

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Posted: Today would be a great day to call your rep regarding binding arbitration for teachers. Talking points are listed here on the web. The hearing is scheduled for this Wednesday in House Labor. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, groups like the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition, formerly the Shoreline...

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Posted: The House labor Committee will hear testimony on binding arbitration this coming Wednesday, october 21 at 2 PM. Tomorrow we will be doing an all member email and Monday a robo call.  Talking Points will be posted here shortly. We need you to start calling your representative and ask them for their support.

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Posted: Council 94 has cancelled tomorrow's vote and has asked the Governor to return to the bargaining table. The Gov. continues to threaten layoffs. Will keep you posted.
Posted: NEARI higher education locals were never part of the discussion between the Governor's office and the unions. Bob Walsh made that quite clear in several emails to the Journal reporter yesterday. NEARI does not have a master agreement and the only local involved for us was the Department of Health and...

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Posted: The Governor and State Employees have reached a Tentative Agreement, avoiding shut down days.  The Supreme Court, as a result, held off on any decisions until October 2. Since details are still being worked out, specifics will not be listed.
Posted: Happy Labor Day to all. While many of us have the day off and will be enjoying time with family and end of summer activities, it is also a good time not to forget those who worked and suffered for all of us to have what we have. I (Larry Purtill) think about the grandfather I never knew, who helped form...

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Posted: There will not be a shut down day tomorrow, September 4. Judge Goldberg stayed the order and all parties are due back in before the Supreme Court next Thursday.
Posted: We will be back in court in the morning, Thursday, before the judge concerning the Governor's shutdown days. Check back tomorrow for the latest.
Posted: A few updates as we head towards the middle of August. First, the lawyers continue to work on the class action lawsuit regarding the pension changes that were passed by the legislature. It should be ready for filing this fall.

Second, there are several communities with unsettled contracts and...

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Posted: The Rhode Island legislature seems to finally have a definite date to return during the first week of September. After many rumors and being led to believe it would be this coming week, it now seems about 5 weeks away. The continuation of the contract bill is very much alive, calling for binding arbitration...

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Posted: The bill to allow the continuation of the contract until a new agreement is reached will most likely be voted on when the House comes back in to session, probably the end of this month. Once we have more details we will be asking you to once again contact your reps and ask them to support. We do not...

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Posted: Check out the article about the NEA RA here on this page. On behalf of over 3 million members, the RA sent a message to the East Providence school committee that they won't tolerate school committees and their lawyers who try to threaten collective bargaining. Val Lawson, the EP Teacher President, did...

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Posted: The Legislature adjourned in the early hours of Saturday morning with many bills still left to be considered, including continuation of the contract. The House will return for at least one day in July and then in the fall. The bill is still very much alive and we will continue lobbying for it. Check...

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Posted: It does not appear that there will be a vote on the continuation of the contract bill tonight in the House. I will blog more information when we have it . Check back Sunday or Monday morning.
Posted: Continuation of the Contract passed House Labor late last night and should be voted on later today. This codifies in to law what has been practice since 1992, a contract continues until a new agreement is reached. It is not great for either side, but without binding arbitration or the right to strike,...

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Posted: Article 7 of the budget, pension changes passed 50-24 in the House late this afternoon. The amendments failed but moving the highest five years back to three only failed by one vote, 38-37. As I write this at midnight, they are still in session but our issues are over except the vote on mayoral academies....

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Posted: After six months of testifying, lobbying, meetings, letters and phone calls, it all comes down to today. The House is scheduled to debate and vote on the budget at 2 pm. It could last several hours. At some point tonight or tomorrow I will update the blog with the result and send an email out to local...

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Posted: Great meeting in East Providence, over 400 people there. John Wilson was outstanding,  showing support from the 3.3 million members of NEA. He said the EP school committee was the nation's worst. See the video at turn to 10.com. The chair of the school committee responded and as usual it was weak. The...

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Posted: NEA Executive Director John Wilson will be addressing the East Providence Teachers tomorrow (Monday) at East Providence High School at 4:30. Come out and support your colleagues who are on the front line of protecting our collective bargaining rights. Also, less than 72 hours before the House budget...

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Posted: The full House will be voting on the budget this Wednesday and we are working with different legislators in an effort to have amendments introduced which will lessen the impact of the changes. Obviously, we want no changes at all. They will include reamortizing, changing the five years back to three,...

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Posted: If you read the summary of the plan changes you noted that Service Credits were frozen and after October 1, they would be based on Schedule B's percentage numbers, which are lower than A's. So what you really have, unless you are eligible to retire as of September 30, is an increased age requirement and a lower percentage of salary. See the charts under "What's New" for your own individual situation. There are many different scenario's based on when you started work and how many years of service you have.

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Posted: First, those eligible to retire as of September 30, 2009 will be grandfathered in, there will be no impact to them. For everyone else, a proportionality formula was used based on age 62. The closer you are to retiring, the less the impact. Some will only be impacted a few months, others several years....

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Posted: The budget is still scheduled to come out of House Finance tomorrow, Wednesday, June 17. There was some speculation it might be moved to Thursday but as of 10 pm it is still on for Wednesday. There are a lot of rumors floating around the halls in Providence but we will wait and see what happens in about...

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Posted: See the previous blog for June 16 for update on Lobby Day and the budget. I (Larry Purtill) will continue to update local presidents daily and many of them pass it along to you, continue to blog here, but over the next few days, Twitter is the fastest and easiest way for me to update you with what is...

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Posted: Today is Lobby Day. For those of you coming to the State House, we will be there at 2 so whenever you can get there. There is a glitch if you have a meeting with your rep as the Democrats have a caucus at 2:45 pm but Senators will be available and your presence is important.  The budget is scheduled...

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Posted: The 2010 budget has been posted for this Wednesday in House Finance at 1 pm. Stay tuned for more information here and on Larry Purtill's twitter site.
Posted: This Tuesday, June 16 we will be holding our second Lobby Day at the State House.  The goal is to have our lobby teams and other interested members come to the State House and meet face to face with their reps and senators. It's easy; get together with your colleagues, call your rep and senator to set...

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Posted: As I am writing this on Saturday morning, it is a beautiful day and many of you are thinking about school winding down and summer plans, but there is a lot to do yet. Legislators continue to say that they need and want to hear from you. It is very important that you attend Lobby Day this Tuesday and...

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Posted: The Rhode Island Senate today passed a bill that would codify in to law that a contract would continue, once it expired, until a new agreement was reached. Now on to the House. This is a good start!!! Thanks to GR staff Henry Boeniger for all his hard work.
Posted: It looks like the budget will be coming out of House Finance some time next week. We have said over and over to contact your reps and senators and with less than three weeks to go, now is a great time. See the links and talking points on this page.Lobby Day is Tuesday and if interested see your local...

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Posted: The South Kingstown budget passed last night as the referendum was defeated by a 60-40 margin. Christine Heid and the SK teachers, along with the other unions in town, did great work in getting out the vote. (The benefit of Working Rhode Island.) Bill O'Neil and his wealthy backers were not able to convince...

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Posted: First, the budget is possibly coming out this Friday, call your reps and senators. (See previous blog.)Two big events tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9. South Kingstown will be holding a referendum in which Town Council member William O'Neil is leading the charge to cut $1.3 million from the school budget. We...

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Posted: A lot of discussion about the budget coming out this Friday, June 12 in House Finance. If it does, a vote in the House could happen the following week so it is critical that you call your reps and senators. There is still no definite plan but you need to make your points before it comes out. The talking...

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Posted: The House Finance Committee hearing on pension changes lasted about three hours today with both Larry and Marcia Reback from the AFT testifying. Bob Sullivan, veteran NK teacher and past local president, testified as well. While the hearing went well, there is still no indication from the Committee in...

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Posted: The pension Hearing in House Finance begins tomorrow at noon. Again, there is no specific plan being presented. They are being briefed on the current system, the Governor's proposals, the pension review Study Commission's report and taking testimony. We will be there presenting a 24 page written report...

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Posted: 9:30 pm. Continuation of the contract passed the Senate labor Committee earlier this evening. This would put in to law what exists as a result of the Warwick decision which continues an expired contract until a new agreement is reached. It would prevent any future East Providence situations where a school...

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Posted: 6:30 am. The pension hearing this Friday is scheduled in House Finance and is not a specific plan or bill. It is for the committee to be briefed on the current system, the Governor's proposals, the Pension Study Commission's report and to take testimony. It will have plenty of media coverage and you...

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Posted: Tuesday, 4:30 pm. Just In; the House Finance Committee will hold a hearing on possible pension changes this Friday, June 5 at noon. No details have been posted or released. As soon as we have more information we will post here and President Purtill will post on Twitter. There may or not be a specific...

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Posted: The state budget for 2010 starts on July 1, 2009 and as of now we have seen no specific bills or what the final budget will look like. It is difficult to lobby for educational aid, protecting pensions and collective bargaining without seeing specifically what the legislature intends to do, but that is...

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Posted: When I was a kid, and yes it was a long time ago, although it doesn't seem so, Memorial Day meant parades and cookouts. It also meant, if the weather was good, a six hour drive to visit my grandparents at their small summer cottage in Salisbury, New Hampshire. It usually meant a visit to the cemetary...

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Posted: The next Lobby Day will be at the State House on June 16. This past Tuesday was a success and we need a big turnout in mid June. The goal of the legislature is to be done by June 26 but many of us think they may go to July. Reamortizing the pension system is gaining some traction and is the number one...

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Posted: NEARI members showed up at the State House today to lobby their reps and senators on the budget, collective bargaining and pensions. Now would be a great time to follow up with letters and phone calls. If you need talking points go to What's New and click on Lobby Day. We are planning another Lobby Day...

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Posted: Please join many of your colleagues from around Rhode Island tomorrow at the State House to lobby legislators against pension changes and anti collective bargaining legislation. Set up appointments by calling your rep and senator and let us know if you will be attending. You can see your local president...

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Posted: This Tuesday at the Met School, 6 pm,the Board of Regents will be holding their last hearing on the changes to the Basic Education Plan. The problem with it is that certain programs do not seem to be mandated and as a result there is a concern, and rightfully so, that when budgets are tight, programs...

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Posted: The second and final lobby training will be held at Tiverton HS today, 5-7 pm. Larry Purtill will give an update and explain how Tuesday will go and Angelique Pirozzi from NEA will do the actual training. Pizza and soda will be served thanks to Amy Mullen. Those trained last week should be setting up...

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Posted: As many of you are quite aware, half of Rhode Island's teachers are not eligible for social security and some that are will have their social security benefits offset when they retire because the district they retire from does not participate. This includes many who will lose survivor benefits from their...

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Posted: NEARI President Larry Purtill now has an account on Twitter, follow him and get the latest. For those of you unfamilar with Twitter, it is a way to stay in touch by answering the question, "What are you doing." The response is brief and to the point. For example, his post tonight said the BEP hearings,...

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Posted: No petition was presented at the South Kingstown Town Council meeting tonight and Jim O'Neil has until 4 pm tomorrow to present the request for a referendum with at least 200 signatures. (You would think that a town the size of SK would need more than 200 signatures.) His request would call for a vote...

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Posted: If you are a resident of SK, the school district can use your support Monday night at the Town Council meeting. Despite a zero increase in the district's budget, a petition for a referendum to cut the budget may be presented and voted on. Unfortunately, Jim O'Neil only cares about cutting the budget...

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Posted: Over two dozen members participated in a two hour lobby training last night at NEARI by Angelique Pirozzi from NEA. Vice President Ray Pouliot, GR staff member Henry Boeniger, and PR staff member Karen Jenkins also took part with President Larry Purtill giving everyone the latest update. There was a...

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Posted: May is a very busy time for most of you and finding some free time is difficult, but you need to write or call your state rep and senator this week and tell them that you expect no changes to the pension system. Next week the revenue estimating conferences begin and we expect after that we will see what...

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Posted: If you want to become involved and learn how to be an effective lobbyist, NEARI will be offering training this coming Tuesday at the office from 5-7pm. This will help you have a greater impact when you contact your rep and senator. To become part of your local's lobbying team, see your local president...

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Posted: Several members have asked if state employees and teachers eligible to retire will still be grandfathered in if pension changes are made. Many of them have upcoming deadlines to notify their districts to be eligible for certain benefits. While we fully expect this to be true, based on everything that...

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Posted: NEARI will be offering two lobby training sessions for members interested in the issues, how to lobby and also how to recruit local members to become involved. The two sessions will be on Tuesday, May 5 at NEARI from 5 to 7 pm and Thursday, May 14 from 5-7 at Tiverton High School. If you are interested...

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Posted: Many of you  previously contacted your state rep and senator, but you need to do it again. The more they here from you the better. While we concentrated earlier this year on the House, it is important to contact your state senator as well. Tell them that you do not support any changes to the state, teacher...

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Posted: We are planning a tentative lobby day at the State House for Tuesday, May 19. Local presidents are asking for volunteers to serve as lobby teams to recruit members and lead the efforts against pension and collective bargaining changes in the General Assembly. If interested, see your local president....

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Posted: The Rhode Island General Assembly will not be meeting next week as they are off for the school vacation. This would be a great time if you are home to contact your representative and tell them you are opposed to both the Governor's recommended pension changes and those of the Pension Review Study Commission....

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Posted: The Pension Review Study Commission meeting scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled. No future date has been set. Despite this, please continue to call your representative and senator and ask them to oppose any pension changes.
Posted: The Chairperson of the Pension Review Study Commission, Representative Williamson, sent out a notice late Friday for a meeting of the commission this Tuesday, April 7, at the Rise of the House, around 5pm. The agenda says,"Consider and adopt findings regarding state pensions and the retirement system."...

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Posted: Our higher education members deserve much of the credit for the removal of Article 8 from the supplemental budget. In less than a week's time they made phone calls and working together with their local presidents, NEARI was able to remove language that would have required Board of Governor contracts...

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Posted: 7:40 pm. The House is still debating the supplemental budget but Article 8 is gone. The language to have the Governor approve Board of Governor contracts has been removed. More info on the entire budget tomorrow.
Posted: The Rhode Island House of Representatives is scheduled to vote at 2pm today on the 2009 Supplemental Budget passed last Friday by the House Finance Committee. As you may have seen in the news, there is a lot of opposition, especially to the cuts for cities and towns. We certainly support including additional...

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Posted: Article 8 of the Supplemental Budget, passed by the House Finance Committee this past Friday and set to be voted on by the entire House this Wednesday, reads,"Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, no collective bargaining agreement entered into between the state of Rhode Island...

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Posted: The House Finance Committee voted out a supplemental budget for 2009 this afternoon. There were no pension changes and only one collective bargaining change. It is Article 8 and will impact our members that bargain with the Board of Governors. It reads,"Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, no collective bargaining agreement entered into between the state of Rhode Island and any entity shall be effective until review and approval by the director of administration and the governor." Especially if you are impacted by this, call your representative and tell them you are opposed to the change in Article 8. This can be removed without impacting the budget as it is a no cost item.

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Posted: We are still remaining optimistic regarding the vote by House Finance tomorrow on the supplemental budget. We do not expect any pension changes and the collective bargaining articles will be and/or have been removed. We are still monitoring a few rumors but nothing substantiated. The committee meeting...

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Posted: The House Finance Committee will vote on the 2009 Supplemental Budget tomorrow, March 27. It was posted yesterday and as of right now, from all that we are hearing, we are optimistic that it will not have a negative impact on our members. I am very cautious about saying that however. Things change and...

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Posted: With all the talk about state employee and teacher pension plans, there has been little discussion recently about the governor's proposed changes to the municipal system. The article in the Supplemental Budget regarding the changes in years of service and the COLA is still there. We will continue the...

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Posted: There is no April 1 deadline to retire. The Governor amended his supplemental budget to grandfather all teachers and state employees in who are eligible to retire as of July 1, 2009. Please keep in mind that it would have taken the passage of a law to implement that deadline and no bill exists. Cooler...

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Posted: Today's hearing at the Labor Board between the East Providence Teachers and the School Committee lasted from 9 to 11:30 am. The School Committee's attorney filed several motions asking to dismiss and/or remove the case to the courts, but all were denied. Very little testimony actually took place. The...

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Posted: It is time again to start contacting your representatives and senators to tell them you are opposed to the pension system changes recommended by the Pension Study Commission. Forcing people to work until 65, changing COLA's and implementing a hybrid system is not only unfair but also illegal, especialy...

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Posted: The NEARI Executive Committee meets this coming Monday and obviously the main topic will be pensions. We have been able to communicate with you quickly through email and have about 8,500 addresses. The only problems are some are outdated and others are your school address and it does not always go through....

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Posted: I was asked earlier today if we could go to court and file a suit to stop these changes. Remember this is not even a bill yet, it is a series of recommendations. While we need to react quickly and will, this would still have to go through a series of hearings and pass both the House and Senate. The best...

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Posted: The Committee is still meeting as I write this but they have basically passed as findings of fact most of the ideas proposed by the General Treasurer last week. None of their recommendations would impact those eligible to retire as of July 1, 2009. The most outrageous motions passed are to raise the...

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For more local news, visit NEARI local association websites by district.

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