By Bob Plain in RIFuture.org
 |
| Facing the camera, left to right: Bob Walsh (NEARI), George Nee (RI AFL-CIO), Patrick Crowley (NEARI) |
Gina Raimondo didn’t want to come to the negotiating table
voluntarily, but now thanks to a court order she will have to sit down with
organized labor and Gov. Linc Chafee to try to hammer out a compromise on Rhode
Island’s landmark pension reform law, according to a story first
reported by WPRI.
Chafee has already been meeting with union leaders and Raimondo said she didn’t want
to join those talks.
Judge Sarah Taft-Carter’s ruling today means she has to. Raimondo has said if a
court ordered her to negotiate that she would do so in good faith.
“I expect we will have a busy month of January,” said a very
pleased Bob Walsh today. “We’ll have a big group, as we should, because
everybody has different issues to bring forward.”
Here’s what I expect labor to be asking the state to budge on
behind closed doors this January:
- · Set a less stringent retirement age, which was unilaterally raised in the reform legislation
- · Reduce the amount of time the annual cost of living increase to pensions will be suspended
- · Make the new system less reliant on a 401k-style, or defined contribution, plan
If the parties aren’t able to reach an agreement, a trial could
still start as soon as early May.
Bob Plain is
the editor/publisher of Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's worked as a reporter
for several different news organizations both in Rhode Island and across the
country.