Labor leader optimistic about state’s health

GROWTH ON THE HORIZON: George Nee, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, says the Wexford Science & Technology proposal for the former I-195 land in Providence could be a boon for the state's economy. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
GROWTH ON THE HORIZON: George Nee, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, says the Wexford Science & Technology proposal for the former I-195 land in Providence could be a boon for the state's economy. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

George Nee has had a long tenure as a labor leader with the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, which represents nearly 80,000 workers across the state in a variety of occupations. Nee was named executive director in 1984, secretary-treasurer in 1991 and president in 2009.

What is your view of 2015 in Rhode Island in terms of the state’s economic health?

I am, by nature, an optimist. I think I see us beginning to turn the corner, and there’s evidence of that in the number of people working. The unemployment rate is down. The increased revenue in the budget is a reflection of the number of people working, the increase in taxes and sales taxes. There are a couple of other barometers as well, such as the amount of money going into the job-development fund, which funds job-training programs, and reflects money going into the unemployment system. That’s up; there are more people working and paying unemployment insurance.

It’s not where we’d like to be, but there are a number of big projects coming into play, such as the $206 million nursing school at South Street Landing, which the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce says will result in 540 direct and indirect jobs when it’s done. Also the veterans home in Bristol, a $94 million project, Johnson & Wales University is seeing increased activity in downtown Providence, the new Twin River hotel, the new engineering building at Brown University, an $88 million project. We’ve been in the doldrums for a long time but I think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that’s not a train coming at us.

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What do you see for 2016 in terms of Rhode Island’s economic health?

There has been significant development that will bear fruit in 2016. The governor’s economic-development package was a forward-looking set of tools provided in cooperation with the General Assembly regarding smarter tax incentives. Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s Real Jobs Rhode Island is a different way to do job training on the demand side. The highway-bridges program is headed in the right direction, Providence is creating a more stable format for tax-stabilization agreements, all these things are getting started.

I think a big project that could be a game changer is the activity that Dick Galvin and Wexford Science & Technology are proposing for the Route 195 land. I think that will be realized. And I’m hearing from people in the construction industry there are more people getting involved in the work, they see 2016 as a pretty good year.

If you could, what one thing would you like to see happen here in 2016?

That sounds like a simple question, and if you’re a politician you give five or six answers. But I think the single most important thing is having civic leaders and decision-makers accentuating the positive. From that, people start thinking of their state in a positive manner, they feel better. There are a lot of good things happening, as I’ve mentioned, but they’re somehow overlooked. We tend to dwell on the negative, but if all of us in the public eye could be more positive about the state, we’d be better off.

How has enrollment in unions fared?

In 2015, which was a pretty good year, we saw an uptick in organizing new members and getting contracts. The state’s child-care workers, around 500 of them, got their first contract. The laborers’ union organized dealers over at Twin River the year before, about 500 of them. The National Education Association Rhode Island organized all adjunct faculty at Community College of Rhode Island. The Teamsters had a drive at Daniele Inc. in Burrillville, which makes Italian meats and exports all over the world.

How does the work of unions affect the state’s economic health?

We make sure people are treated fairly, in benefits and working conditions. We’re strong believers in what moves an economy is people having a decent standard of living. That’s why we fight for increasing the minimum wage. Ours is going up to $9.60 an hour; in the country, the average is $7.25. So someone working in a fast-food place here is making $2.35 an hour more than that same job in another state where they charge the same for a hamburger. That’s money they now have, and for the most part they’re lower-income workers who will spend it locally. •

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