PROVIDENCE – Court-ordered talks between Gov. Donald L. Carcieri’s office and the state’s largest public employee union have broken down, the governor’s office confirmed today.
“Mediation has ended,” Carcieri said in a statement yesterday. “They are in the process of choosing an arbitrator.” No other comment will be forthcoming, Amy Kempe, a spokesman for the governor, told Providence Business News in a brief telephone interview today.
The union – Rhode Island Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, which previously has declined to comment on the ongoing legal actions – did not immediately respond to the PBN’s request for comment. The parties were ordered into mediation – essentially, refereed negotiations – by R.I. Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams. (READ MORE)
Their contract dispute reached the Supreme Court last month, when the Carcieri administration appealed an R.I. Superior Court ruling that blocked the governor from unilaterally increasing workers’ health insurance coshares and copayments, in an attempt to pare $10 million from the state budget.
Williams put on hold both the governor’s effort to raise fees for Council 94 members and Council 94’s unfair labor practices complaint with the R.I. Labor Relations Board, filed July 28. (READ MORE)
The judge “firmly believes that mediation and negotiation can produce a far better resolution for the parties and for the citizens of the state than any court decision,” court spokesman Craig N. Berke said in a statement at the time.
In his Aug. 28 ruling, Williams wrote that if mediation fails, both sides must proceed immediately to the more-formal process of non-binding arbitration. The chief justice’s order said that both parties should “use their best efforts” to complete the entire process within 60 days, but it set a deadline of 90 days.
Rhode Island Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, is the state’s largest public-employee union, with about 4,100 members or a third of active state employees. Additional information is available at www.RICouncil94.org.
News and information from the R.I. Governor’s Office are available at www.governor.ri.gov.
Information about the R.I. Supreme Court and its rulings is available at www.courts.ri.gov/supreme.
