Have Teacher Unions in Rhode Island Been Unlawfully Collecting Dues for Years?

 

Government officials take an oath of office to preserve the constitutional rights of their constituents. However, in Rhode Island, school board officials who approved agreements with special-interest public employee unions have effectively hidden those rights from their employees via unconstitutional collective bargaining provisions that are in direct defiance of the Supreme Court Of the United States (SCOTUS).

In 2018, the highest court in America ruled that public employees must retain power over their own paychecks. Yet, since then, many government unions in Rhode Island may have unlawfully collected dues from employees by propagating misleading language that overtly shields them from knowledge of their rights.

The landmark June 2018 US Supreme Court decision in the Janus v AFSCME case opened the door to worker freedom in America. But some of the old political machines were taken aback, especially government employee unions at the state and local level. SCOTUS ruled that no longer could a public employee be mandated to pay union “dues”, “Association fees”, “agency fees”, or “shop fees” as a condition of their employment.

Under the weight of this ruling, most public employee unions across the country, reluctantly realizing the great financial and legal risk of non-compliance, immediately amended their policies and subsequent contract agreements to comply with the new law … such that any dues payments could only be collected once the employee affirmatively provided clear authorization … but not so for many unions in Rhode Island.

According to the Mackinac Center in Michigan, one of nation’s top legal and public policy experts when it comes to government unions, Rhode Island’s rate of non-compliance with the Janus ruling looks to be among the highest in the country. The extent to which blatantly anti-Janus-constitutional provisions still exist in many teacher union Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) is alarming.

An initial review of about three dozen collective bargaining agreements with local school districts in Rhode Island reveals an alarming number – eleven (more than 1 in 4) – that were signed or put into effect after the Janus ruling, contained dues or fees mandate provisions that clearly defy the Supreme Court’s ruling … provisions that are legally unenforceable.

Types of language clearly violating the Janus Supreme Court ruling that were found in the eleven Rhode Island CBAs with local chapters of the NEA, AFT, AFL-CIO, and AFSCME … unlawful provisions that remained in effect for years after 2018 … can be summarized as including passages that:

  • Require automatic deduction of dues or fees from employee paychecks without their expressed consent
  • Require payment of dues or fees as a condition of employment
  • Limit the union opt-out time-window for employees

The table below summarizes the unlawful language of offending school districts (supporting details appear as an Appendix at the end of this report:)

As an example of what a properly worded CBA should look like, post-Janus, we look to provisions in the agreement between the Glocester K-5 school district and the Glocester Teachers’ Association for the time period July 2019 to June 2022:

The Glocester school district maintained the above Articles 20 and 21, post-Janus, but appropriately REMOVED the following provision that appeared in the district’s pre-Janus CBA:

As national examples of how post-Janus federal court cases compelled government unions to appropriately modify their dues/fees collection policies, what follows is language from two related US Third Circuit cases:

LaSpina v. SEIU Pennsylvania State Council, 985 F.3d 278, 282 (3rd Cir. 2021). After the Supreme Court decided Janus, the Union abandoned its agency-fee setup. The day the Court issued its decision, Steve Catanese, president of SEIU Local 668, wrote to Jack Finnerty of the Scranton Public Library “that the Supreme Court has ruled in Janus” and has “held public-sector employers may no longer deduct agency fees from non-consenting employees.” Supp. App. 69. Catanese’s letter instructed Finnerty to, “effective immediately, please discontinue fair-share fee deductions.” Id. (emphasis in original).

“Therefore, under Janus I, Pennsylvania’s public sector agency shop law was no longer constitutional.” Diamond v. Pennsylvania Educ. Ass’n, 972 F.3d 262, 268 (3rd Cir. 2020). Circuit law directly on point.

Other Supreme Court precedent illustrates what must be done to demonstrate employee consent. The Court has ruled that, to demonstrate consent to a waiver of constitutional rights, there must be evidence that the waiver is a “knowing, intelligent act … done with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences.” Brady v United States, 397 U.S. 742, 748 (1970). “It must also be done with “a full awareness of both the nature of the right being abandoned and the consequences of the decision to abandon it.” Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 421,421 (1986) …

Per the SCOTUS ruling, before employees can consent to financially supporting a public sector union, they must know both what their rights are and the consequences of waiving those rights.

Yet, not every school district in Rhode Island was as careful to follow the law as was Glocester, as many districts continued to allow overtly unconstitutional language to remain in their post-Janus CBAs, without providing employees with the required notification of their rights.

One of the most blatant examples of such an unconstitutional provision appears in the September 2018 Westerly Teachers’ Association CBA:

How did this happen? Elected school committee members were either complicit with teacher unions in allowing such “unlawful” language to remain, or they were unwitting victims of malfeasance or ill-advice by their school committee solicitors, who are highly paid to provide accurate legal guidance.

The fact is, that for over three years, many teachers and other school district staff in Rhode Island may have been fraudulently deceived into paying union dues or association fees because of the unconstitutional language in their respective CBAs. These employees likely had dues automatically deducted from their paychecks without ever understanding that their First Amendment rights – that they could not be forced to pay part of their paycheck to their union – had been restored in 2018.

Indeed, as compared with opt-out rates nationally, Rhode Island teachers and other public employees are choosing to “opt-out” of paying union dues at rates far lower than their counterparts in other states. While states like California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are seeing more than 15% of workers opt out of paying money to their unions, we estimate that less than 5% of Rhode Island union members have opted out. Now, we may know why.

In the majority Supreme Court decision in 2018, Justice Alito was noted that billions of dollars were likely collected by government unions nationwide in recent decades. Much of this money came from employees who never wanted to pay union dues in the first place but were forced to, because of prior legal precedent.

However, over the past three and a half years, Rhode Island unions may have similarly, yet unlawfully, collected millions of dollars in dues from employees who may have chosen to opt-out … had they not been deceived by clearly unconstitutional language.

Obvious questions must be asked, including:

  • How many teachers and school staff would not have paid union dues if they had been appropriately advised of their rights? How much money was fraudulently collected by unions?
  • Why do so man teacher union CBAs in Rhode Island contain such unconstitutional language? 
  • Why did Rhode Island school committees and teacher unions engage in such non-compliance so much more than any other state?
  • Did school committee members knowingly turn a blind eye towards this malfeasance, or were they completely ignorant of these obvious violations?
  • How can high-paid school committee solicitors allow such obviously unconstitutional language to be included in recent CBAs?
  • Is anything comparable to this level of unconstitutionality occurring in non-teacher public employee CBA contracts in Rhode Island?

Why in some cases, does the AFSCME CBA have proper language regarding dues and fees, while the teacher contract over the same period in the same school district has unconstitutional language?

The main question this report raises … is whether or not certain public teacher unions in Rhode Island conspired to illicitly collect union dues from unwitting teachers and staff?

This is not the first time that a government entity in Rhode Island has exhibited such blatant defiance of the US Supreme Court’s Janus decision. In 2018, our Center’s MyPayMySayRI.com campaign triggered a public letter of warning from then Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, after our outreach initiative sought to educate government workers about their restored Janus rights. The letter from Rhode Island’s highest law enforcement official contained numerous unsubstantiated, unspecified, and false assertions of “misinformation” being put forth by our RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity, such as the bogus claim that we were mis-informing public employees of their rights not to join or pay union dues or fees.

Then, as now, the pattern of government officials in Rhode Island conducting the bidding of public sector unions – at both the state and local level – even to the extent of seeking to obfuscate the constitutional rights of its members … runs directly contrary to the public oaths they took upon entering office.

A review of non-school district CBAs will soon be conducted by the Center.

The following Appendix lists images the actual passages from post-Janus teacher-union CBAs in Rhode Island that contain language that does not comply with the US Supreme Court’s Janus ruling.


APPENDIX

Rhode Island School Districts with Unconstitutional Collective Bargaining Provisions

 

Burrillville: NEA Contract Period: September 2021-2024

Page-40: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=YnNkLXJpLm5ldHxob21lfGd4Ojc1NTMwZjU2M2U5MDhiMQ

Page-5: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/236104/CF_CBA_18-21_FINAL_FORM.pdf 

Foster-Glocester: NEA Contract Period 2020-2023

Page-29: http://www.fg.k12.ri.us/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=9841126

Johnston: AFL-CIO Local 808 Contract period 2017-2020, extended in 2020 by the school district

Pages 4-5: https://www.johnstonschools.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=20171014

June 2020 Johnston School District Minutes

 

Lincoln: AFSCME Contract Period September 2018-2021

Page-4: https://www.lincolnps.org/cms/lib/RI50000681/Centricity/Domain/44/L2671-contract-2018-2021-02-07-19-FINAL.pdf

New Shoreham: AFSCME Contract Period 2019-2022

Page-2: https://4.files.edl.io/4ef8/11/15/19/153226-ac2437cb-2ef2-43d3-8fb7-ab0bbf4cb0cf.pdf

North Smithfield: NEA Contract Period 2021-24

Page-6: NSTA Collective Bargaining Agreement

Portsmouth: AFSCME Contract Period September 2018-2021
Page-2:

https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1355692/Council_94_Contract_7.1.18_-_7.30.21.pdf

Tiverton: NEA Contract Period; 2019 –

Page-9: http://www.tivertonschools.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=8558123

Westerly: NEA Contract Period September 2018-2021

Page-5: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V6e4ChNvhLkp6-Y0zqPUdieauxOzAMvm/view

West Warwick: AFT Contract Period September 2018-2023

Page-21: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NdyhtJYJb0SibVVm0BXmthzTkehxDtjU/view

On the one year JANUS Anniversary: Center Launches $30,000 Phase-2 of Campaign to Inform Public Employees of their Rights

JANUS Anniversary: Center Launches $30,000 Phase-2 of Campaign to Inform Public Employees of their Rights

MyPayMySay Campaign to Spend $30,000 in Phase-2
Phase-1 Led to Doubling of State Worker Opt-Outs

Providence, RI –– In recognition of tomorrow’s one-year anniversary of the landmark US Supreme Court Janus v AFSCME ruling the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity announced today that it has launched phase-2 of its MyPayMySayRI.comcampaign to inform government workers of their restored first-Amendment rights.

“After hearing last summer from dozens of workers, frustrated that their unions were not adequately informing them of their rights following the Janus decision, our Center quickly launched, with little funding, our MyPayMySaycampaign, in conjunction with our national partner, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy,” said Mike Stenhouse, the Center’s CEO. 

Phase-1 of the campaign has already achieved significant results. According to a Providence Journal article, the percentage of state workers choosing not to become a union member has doubled from about 3% to 6% in less than one year. Also, 26% of the professional staff at the University of Rhode Island have left their NEA-RI union. 

JANUS Anniversary

Yet, a recent national survey shows that 83% of K-12 teachers don’t fully understand their rights, while half of all teachers still don’t know they can leave their union without being required to pay fees and without losing any of their pay, health insurance, tenure, or seniority or other benefits.

Phase-2 of the Center’s campaign, following a more sustained fundraising outreach, began in late May and will end in July. Overall, approximately $30,000 is being spent to inform workers of their options through social media and web advertising, as well as mail pieces to union households.

The June 27 anniversary coincides with action this month by state lawmakers to side-step the rights of public employees by advancing bills that are a clear contrast to the decision made by the nation’s highest court. The legislation gives government unions special access to workers and allows unions to charge certain fees to those who choose not to pay for membership. The Center will monitor these actions from a legal standpoint.

Government unions themselves were exposed in the news last year when the NEA-RI issued a misleading and coercive letter to its local Bristol-Warren members.

State government officials also have been complicit in attempting to deny public employees the unbiased information they need to make the best decision for themselves and their families. Last summer, Governor Raimondo issued a directive to deny state-worker information to groups seeking to inform workers of their rights. And, more disturbingly, shortly after the Center’s campaign was launched, former Attorney General Kilmartin issued a public statement that misled public workers about their Janus rights; legal experts rightly called out this failure of leadership.

In many other states, where similar post-Janus or Right-To-Work informational campaigns have been initiated, up to 20%-30% of public employees have freely chosen to leave their government-designated unions.

Public employees can learn the full truth at www.MyPayMySayRI.com.


Center Co-signs Amicus Brief in Public Employee Union Supreme Court Case

CENTER JOINS LOCAL AND NATIONAL ORGS IN SUPPORT OF FURTHER WORKPLACE FREEDOM FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

Government Unions Should Welcome a pro-Uradnik Decision

Providence, RI — The RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity is one of 18 organizations across the country listed as co-signers on an “amicus brief” filed last week in support of Kathleen Uradnik, a university professor in Minnesota, in her US Supreme Court lawsuit, Uradnik vs Inter Faculty Association
 
The amicus brief, submitted by the Center of the American Experiment, was also co-signed by another Rhode Island nonprofit, the Stephen Hopkins Center for Civil Rights, a libertarian strategic litigation organization (the brief’s Appendix lists all of the co-signing organizations).
 
This Uradnik case challenges state laws that appoint a union to represent and speak for all workers, even those who disagree with it – an arrangement known as “exclusive representation.”
 
Uradnik, who has had major disputes with her faculty’s labor union, which has discriminated against her, is nonetheless required by state law to associate with it and to allow it to speak for her. Rhode Island has similar laws imposing exclusive representation upon public employees, limiting their freedoms and opportunities for advancement. 
 
“Last summer’s Janus decision was monumental in restoring First Amendment rights for public servants against forced union fee payments. Now, the fight for freedom continues against forced union representation,” said Mike Stenhouse, CEO for the Center. “Public unions, which have complained about the ‘free-rider’ aspects of Janus, should join us in supporting Kathleen Uradnik, as it would alleviate them of their stated burden of representing employees who have chosen not to pay their high annual union dues.”
 
A win for Uradnik would strike down such laws nationwide, another major blow against union favoritism and in favor of First Amendment rights. The amicus brief encourages the Supreme Court to hear the case, hopefully in its 2019 session.
 
Any state or local government employees (teacher, fire, police, service, or admin) who wants more control over their families’ financial security and who may have questions about their rights in the aftermath of the historic Janus ruling by the US Supreme Court last summer can find out more about their restored freedoms and their unions’ activities at www.MyPayMySayRI.com . In short, the high cost of union dues means less money in employees’ paychecks and more money toward a system teachers don’t control. @MyPayMySayRI 
 
The Center is currently compiling detailed data on exactly how teachers union dues are being spent, including what political agendas and candidates are being unwittingly funded by the dues of teachers across the state of Rhode Island. An initial report is expected soon.

Throwing more money at the severe failures highlighted in this week's RICAS student assessment scores is not the answer, as our state already ranks among the highest spending states per student in the nation. The solution must come from fundamental reforms to Rhode Island education failures.

Center Calls for Empowered Teachers and ESA’s as Part of the Solution to RI’s Education Failures

Teachers Should Leverage Their Newly Restored Rights

ESA Outlet for Concerned Families?

Providence, RI — The Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity for years has been warning about the poor value state and local taxpayers have been receiving for their high public investment in public education. Throwing more money at the severe education failures highlighted in this week’s RICAS student assessment scores is not the answer, as our state already ranks among the highest spending states per student in the nation. The solution must come from fundamental reforms.

First, the Center has previously suggested that public education can be the greatest beneficiary of the last summer’s landmark US Supreme Court Janus decision. By boldly taking advantage of their recently restored first-amendment Janus rights, and because unions can no longer force teachers who disagree with them to fund bargaining positions that tie the hands of educators, teachers have been empowered with a stronger voice to fight against ineffective policies. Teachers must be un-handcuffed by ending union-negotiated restrictions on how they are allowed to educate our children. Teachers must also demand a greater say about potential reforms that may improve educational outcomes. If teachers believe their unions are not helping to positively reform education, they now have the full-freedom and leverage to opt-out of paying any money to their union without fear of negative repercussions. Teachers, and all public employees can learn more at MyPayMySayRI.com.

Throwing more money at the severe failures highlighted in this week's RICAS student assessment scores is not the answer, as our state already ranks among the highest spending states per student in the nation. The solution must come from fundamental reforms to Rhode Island education failures.

Second, an outlet must be provided for families that want a brighter future for their children, which begins with a better education today. The Center’s “Bright Today” Educational Scholarship Account program (ESA), which was blocked by teachers unions in the General Assembly years ago, would empower parents to choose a better school for their children, by allowing limited dollars to follow the student to a private school of their choice. National studies have shown that such private school choice policies can improve educational results for participating students, without harming existing public educational outcomes. More information about the Bright Today ESA scholarship program can be found at BrightToday.org.

With ethics issues abound, we call on NEARI to authorize its own highly compensated union official, Sarah Markey, to resign from the South Kingstown School Committee.

Center Calls on NEARI to End the Ethics Drama in South Kingstown

NEA Scheme Would Create Continual Ethical Problems

Teachers Do Not Want Stigma of Being Tied to Corrupt Union Tactics

Providence, RI — With ethics issues abounding and an irreconcilable conflict of interest likely to result in constant recusals and committee actions that will be continually challenged as illegitimate, the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity calls on the National Education Association of Rhode Island (NEARI) to authorize its own highly compensated union official, Sarah Markey, to resign from the South Kingstown School Committee seat she won in the November elections.

Generating intense local and statewide debate, most honest observers believe that Markey would find it impossible to balance her civic duties as a school committee member with her professional duties to preserve and grow union membership and compensation levels, necessarily at the expense of the taxpaying voters who unwittingly elected her.

“I call on my friend Bob Walsh to do the ethical thing here,” said Mike Stenhouse, the Center’s CEO. “Understandably, government worker unions across the country are desperate to try to circumvent the loss of membership, money, and political power that will result from the landmark Janus ruling by the US Supreme Court. However, rigging the system by placing their union bosses as inside agents, who will only corrupt the democratic process, is an unacceptable tactic. This cannot be allowed to happen in South Kingstown or anywhere else in our state.”

The Center contends, with the NEA scheme now exposed, that Mr. Walsh should recognize that the gig is up and save the town from additional public embarrassment. Potentially furthering the fiasco, according to media reports, on Friday evening the school committee will consider firing the messenger – the law firm – that initially provided a sound legal opinion about the insurmountable conflicts of interest if Ms. Markey were to serve on the committee.

As the United States Supreme Court opined in its historic Janus decision last summer, virtually every action that a government employee union conducts is inherently political, as it necessarily involves public policy or public money. On a local school committee that deals 100% on issues involving public education, and its funding by taxpayers, Ms. Markey faces a hopeless conflict of interest.

National surveys show that public employees are often turned-off by the corrupt and unscrupulous tactics that their own unions sometimes deploy and that they do not want the stigma of such overt political actions tarnishing their personal reputations.

No longer required to pay any fees or dues to unions, and legally protected from recrimination or adverse consequences, public employees can learn more about their Janus rights at www.MyPayMySayRI.com.

Public school teachers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have little or no control over the four-out-of-five of their union dues dollars that support the high salaries and extremist political advocacy of state and national union officials. Conversely, a mere 16%-21% of their hard-earned money is directed to their local unions.

NEW: Statement on MA Report re. Teachers Union Dues-Flow. Just 21% stays local in RI?

RI Teachers See About 80% of their Dues Spent on non-Local Salaries and Issues

Detailed Spending Report in the Works

Providence, RI — Public school teachers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have little or no control over the four-out-of-five of their union dues dollars that support the high salaries and extremist political advocacy of state and national union officials. Conversely, a mere 16%-21% of their hard-earned money is directed to their local unions.

Public school teachers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have little or no control over the four-out-of-five of their union dues dollars that support the high salaries and extremist political advocacy of state and national union officials. Conversely, a mere 16%-21% of their hard-earned money is directed to their local unions.

According to a report released yesterday by the Pioneer Institute in Massachusetts, only 16% of dues paid by the average Bay State teacher flows toward their local association. The lions share, instead, is funneled to the Mass. Teachers Association and the National Education Association (NEA). Worse for teachers, according to the federal filings of the NEA, AFT, and AFSCME affiliates, only about 20% of the “local” dues money goes towards bargaining or other representational activities.

In the Ocean State, a document obtained by the Center earlier this fall showed that just 21% of teachers’ dues may stay local; again with significantly larger portions flowing up the line to advance non-collective-bargaining-related state and national agendas.

“Understandably, most union members like their local union reps,” said the Center’s CEO, Mike Stenhouse, “However, most teachers are probably not aware that 80% or more of their dues flow upward to support activities that do not directly help teachers and, as is often the case, political advocacy they strongly disagree with.”

Teachers, and any state or local government employee, who want more control over their family’s financial security, and who may have questions about their rights in the aftermath of the historic JANUS ruling by the US Supreme Court last summer, can find out more about their restored freedoms and their union’s activities at MyPayMySayRI.com. In short, the high-cost of union dues means less money in employees’ paychecks and more money towards a system teachers don’t control. @MyPayMySayRI

The Center published a letter from the Bristol-Warren Education Association (BWEA, a local NEA union), that not only showed the union misinformed teachers, but also showed that only $174 out of the $821 in proposed annual dues were to go to their local NEA association. In August, the Center published a letter from the Bristol-Warren Education Association (BWEA, a local NEA union), that not only showed the union misinformed teachers, but also showed that only $174 out of the $821 in proposed annual dues were to go to their local NEA association.

The Center is currently compiling detailed data on exactly how teachers union dues are being spent, including what political agendas and candidates are being unwittingly funded by the dues of teachers across the state of Rhode Island. An initial report is expected soon.

Center Responds to Mis-Informed Attack by R.I. Attorney General

Attorney General Kilmartin Makes Unsubstantiated Claims and False Assertions

A.G. should seek to champion constitutional rights … not obfuscate them

Providence, RI – With the expectation the state’s top law enforcement official would work to preserve and advance the constitutional rights of his state’s citizens, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity, in seeking to educate public workers about said rights, responds to an intimidating statement from Attorney General that attempts to obfuscate workers free exercise of those rights.

By joining Rhode Island’s Governor in seeking to shield public employees from becoming fully aware of their recently restored rights, the state’s Attorney General made a number of unsubstantiated and false claims in a media release from his office yesterday. The Center, along with its national partner, last week launched its My Pay My Say RI public awareness campaign on the MyPayMySayRI.com website.

The campaign is designed to inform public servants of their recently restored first Amendment rights, as ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Janus v AFSCME decision; that workers cannot lose their job or otherwise suffer consequences if they choose not to support the political activism of their union officials by opting-out as a dues-paying member.
The target of the A.G.’s release, termed as an “outside group”, was obviously aimed at the Center and its public awareness campaign. The release, ostensibly, intended to “provide clarity” on the rights of government workers, only served to muddy the waters with a number of unsubstantiated, false, and contradictory assertions.

In claiming My Pay My Say RI  is a “campaign to misinform public sector employees,” the A.G. does not substantiate his attack by providing any evidence or even citing one specific data point that he feels is misleading.

It is false that the Janus decision “only affects … previous fair share agency fee” payers. All public employees are impacted by the Supreme Court ruling. Every worker now has the full freedom to disaffiliate and, as the AG contradicts himself in his own statement, now must affirmatively consent to paying dues.

In discussing “confusion about the rights of … public sector workers” and employees “falling victim to potential misinformation,” per reports and feedback the Center has received from the rank and file, it is union officials themselves who are disseminating misinformation, including the false and potentially illegal responses that:

  • The Janus ruling does not apply to Rhode Island or to one particular firefighter union
  • Those who may choose to exercise their right to opt-out of paying dues to their union would no longer be eligible for promotions or for overtime work
  • Anyone wishing to opt-out of union membership must wait until the end of their current collective bargaining agreement.
  • Just days ago, the Center exposed a threatening letter from a local union to its members in an attempt to coerce them to remain in their NEARI union.

“These responses by union officials – to honest questions by honest workers seeking to make the best decisions for themselves and their families – are blatantly false,” said Mike Stenhouse, CEO for the Center. “I am more convinced than ever that the public service we are providing for public servants is very much needed. It is outrageous that high ranking government officials would conspire to keep public employees in the dark. Nothing we are doing warrants a response from the Attorney General.”

There were additional problems with the Attorney General’s statement.

It is an incorrect assertion that the “outside group” (the Center’s My Pay My Say RIcampaign) is educating public employees on how to “disaffiliate from their collective bargaining units.” It is not legally possible, as far as the Center has been advised, to do what the AG suggests. The campaign does provide an option for workers to opt-out of their government designated union; but public employees, whether they choose to pay union dues or not, legally remain part of the larger collective bargaining unit. It is disconcerting that the chief legal officer of the State of Rhode Island is not aware of this legal nuance.

In no way does the My Pay My Say RI campaign interfere with the legal right for workers to to collectively bargain or for public employees to perform their often vital services, as the A.G.’s statement implies. The Center agrees with the A.G. in supporting the “critical role” of public sector employees.

Finally, the Center also agrees with the A.G. that it is “critical that (workers) seek advice… from (a) reliable source.” However, it is the information on the MyPayMySayRI.com website that is reliable. Conversely, and as evidenced in this statement, misinformation and intimidation put forth by union officials is not reliable.

In July the Governor issued a directive, advising state agencies from providing contact information of public employees from outside groups (that may want to inform them of their rights).

For more information visit the MyPayMySayRI.com website or follow us on Twitter at @MyPayMySayRI .

An SEIU postcard mailer obtained by the Center, combined with the fact that legislatively scheduled Home Care Pay Raises have not been implemented, leads to serious questions about whether or not the Raimondo administration and the Services Employees International Union (SEIU) conspired.

Center Questions if SEIU and Raimondo Administration Colluded in Delaying Home Care Pay Raises

Legislative Home Care Pay Raises Delayed.
Purposely done to aid SEIU?

Is this another case of unions and government conspiring to keep workers in the dark?

Providence, RI – An SEIU postcard mailer obtained by the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity, combined with the fact that legislatively scheduled raises have not been implemented, raises serious questions about whether or not the Raimondo administration and the Services Employees International Union conspired to assist SEIU in making a dishonest appeal to unionize these home care providers.

The postcard, which deceptively seeks to compel home care workers to contact SEIU if they haven’t received their promised pay raises, may be further evidence of government collusion with public sector unions to keep workers misinformed.

As highlighted by the Center in its recently launched MyPayMySayRI.com campaign, incomplete and often incorrect information from unions is routinely put forth not only to its own members, but apparently also to those they are recruiting.

Did the Raimondo administration purposely delay implementing the provider pay increase so that SEIU might have a larger opening to recruit them?

Critical aspects of this story were confirmed by Center this morning after reaching out to the RI Partnership for Home Care (RIPHC), the state association that oversees the dozens of private agencies that employ over 7,000 home care providers.

Here is the timeline:

  • January – the Governor’s proposed budget does NOT include a pay raise for home care workers reimbursed by Medicaid funds
  • February – House and Senate bills introduced, establishing a process to unionize home care workers under SEIU. Hearings later conducted, bills held for further study.
  • Early June – House SubA budget (Article 13) includes 10%-20% reimbursement rate increase for home care providers
  • Mid June – General Assembly passes and governor signs budget, including home care pay raises that are to be implemented by July 1, 2018.
  • Late June – SEIU unionization bills suddenly re-appear and are quickly ushered through the General Assembly and signed by the governor
  • Early July – Governor Raimondo issues a directive to shield state worker contact information, so they cannot be apprised of their rights by outside groups
  • Mid July – RIPHC is informed by RI Department of Health and Human Resources that the legislated reimbursement increases would not take effect until at least October 1
  • Early August – SEIU officially endorses Governor Raimondo for governor
  • Late August – SEIU sends out thousands of postcard mailers, seeking to capitalize on the pay increase delay

The SEIU postcard deceptively makes it appear as if the home care agencies received the legislative reimbursement rate increases … but that that they were not passed on to the individual providers in the form of a pay increase. The RIPHC has promised its home care service providers that virtually all reimbursement increases would be passed on to them, however, the agencies have not yet received the scheduled increases.

Was this part of a grand, corrupt scheme? Further investigation is required.

“The idea that hard working Rhode Islanders would have their take home pay purposely held down so that the government can give an advantage to its SEIU special interest friends … is unconscionable,” exclaimed Mike Stenhouse, the Center’s CEO. “As I have noted before, turning over control of this industry to overly politicized and incompetent government bureaucrats is the wrong direction for our state. Why would we want to put government and unions in between patients and their home care providers?”

The Center also points out the incongruity of this “SEIUnionization” attempt and the direction that the nation is heading. After the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the landmark Janus case, which ended the unconstitutional practice of forced payments by public employees to unions, it is clear that America is moving towards more worker freedom and less governmental control over our lives. However, long-time union activists and their crony allies in the government want to move Rhode Island in the opposite direction, seeking to consolidate centralized-control and planning under political insiders and their special-interest allies.

Center, National Group Rip Bristol-Warren Teachers Union Letter as “Threatening”

Coercive Letter is Designed to Scare Teachers Away from Exercising Their Rights

National Group Concurs!

Providence, RI – With an initial meeting tonight, and in response to the June landmark Janus Supreme Court decision and the My Pay, My Say RI worker freedom campaign launched last week by the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity, the local Bristol-Warren Education Association (BWEA), desperate to keep dues money flowing, issued an inappropriately “threatening” letter to teachers within its collective bargaining unit, according to a news report on GoLocalProv.com.

The Center and other national labor experts say this letter from the Bristol-Warren teachers union, which over-emphasizes the potential negative consequences of exiting the union, serves as nothing more than a scare-tactic to union members who may not want their dues to support the political activities of the NEA and who may be considering disaffiliation.

Colin Sharkey, Executive Director of the Association of American Educators, a national non-union professional association for educators, when shown the Bristol-Warren teachers union letter shared, “It is disappointing that instead of demonstrating what is valuable about membership and focusing on quality service to members, some unions opted to send letters threatening and misinforming non-members as a way to keep dues flowing. It reminds us why the Supreme Court had to step in to respect the rights of all educators to choose which association to join, but also illustrates how much work still needs to be done to protect those rights. Rhode Island educators, union and non-union alike, deserve better.”

“This letter clearly does not represent the freedom of choice that the Janus decision envisions. The coercive nature of this letter itself may be grounds for legal action, as could any specific misrepresentations made in the letter. Our local and national legal team will soon make a judgment on some of its specific claims,” said Mike Stenhouse, CEO for the Center. “It is encouraging that the NEA is complying with the Janus decision in that they are asking each teacher to affirmatively confirm that they choose to pay union dues, however the threatening tone of the letter defeats the purpose.”

Teachers and all state and municipal employees in Rhode Island can learn about their rights at MyPayMySayRI.com. The campaign is designed to inform public servants of their recently restored first Amendment rights, as ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Janus v AFSCME case.

MyPayMySayRI: It's your paycheck. Union membership is now your choice. Do you know what your newly recognized Janus Rights are?

MyPayMySayRI: It’s your paycheck. Union membership is now your choice. Do you know what your newly recognized Janus Rights are?

The Center, in partnership with the $10 million national education and outreach campaign, My Pay My Say, has already accumulated tens of thousands of email and mailing addresses of government workers. Enough money has been raised to fund phase I of the campaign, which will include thousands of direct mail pieces.

The MyPayMySayRI.com website includes educational information for public employees, with a dedicated section for teachers, and will soon include information on the political spending of certain government unions. The website also includes a page for workers to tell their story if they have unsuccessfully tried to leave their union or have received unsatisfactory responses to inquiries of their employer or union officials.

The website further includes links to an opt-out page where an official letter, requesting exit from the individual’s specific union, can be automatically created and printed, as well as links to a page where individuals can indicate that they choose to remain in their union.

For more information visit the MyPayMySayRI.com website or follow us on Twitter at @MyPayMySayRI .

In recognition of National Employee Freedom Week (Aug 19 - 25), and despite the state's attempt to shield public employees from becoming aware of their rights, we have launched our My Pay My Say RI public awareness campaign and our MyPayMySayRI.com website to educate about public employees rights.

Center Launches “My Pay My Say RI” Campaign to Inform Public Employees of Their Restored Rights

Government Unions and Political Cronies Seek to Keep Public Servants in the Dark

Public Education Will Be Biggest Beneficiary!

Many have already opted out!

Providence, RI – In recognition of National Employee Freedom Week (Aug 19 – 25), and despite the state’s attempt to shield public employees from becoming aware of their rights, the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity today launched its My Pay My Say RI public awareness campaign on its MyPayMySayRI.com website.

The campaign is designed to inform public servants of their recently restored first Amendment rights, as ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Janus v AFSCME case. A consistent champion of constitutional rights for all citizens, the Center believes public employees deserve to know that they now have full freedom when it comes to deciding whether or not it is in their best interest to pay union dues; and that they cannot be recriminated against if they choose to leave. Prior to the Janus ruling, all state and municipal employees in Rhode Island were forceed to pay their government-designated unions as a condition of employment.

However, the Supreme Court has decided that because it is their pay, union membership – or not – is rightfully the say of every public worker; especially when workers may disagree with their union’s political advocacy, which is paid for with their dues money.

Case in point is Michelle, a municipal employee in the Ocean State, who opted-out right after the Janus ruling and who said: “I don’t understand why some of my friends continue to pay their dues despite their political views being completely opposite of what the union supports.”

The Center has partnered with the $10 million national education and outreach campaign, My Pay My Say, to launch a customized Rhode Island initiative. “Despite the governor’s and the unions’ efforts to keep public employees in the dark, our Center and our national partner have already accumulated tens of thousands of email and mailing addresses of government workers. We expect to contact them in the coming weeks and ongoing for years,” said the Center’s CEO, Mike Stenhouse. “We have raised enough money to fund phase I of our campaign, which will include thousands of direct mail pieces. The more money we raise, the more awareness we can create.”

The Center believes that public education will be the greatest beneficiary of the Janus ruling. Because unions can no longer force teachers who disagree with them to fund bargaining positions that tie the hands of educators, teachers will be empowered with a stronger voice to fight against ineffective policies.

The MyPayMySayRI.com website includes educational information for public employees, with a dedicated section for teachers, and will soon include information on the political spending of certain government unions. The website also includes a page for workers to tell their story if they have unsuccessfully tried to leave their union or have received unsatisfactory responses to inquiries of their employer or union officials.

“We respect each person’s right to make an informed decision. It’s unfortunate that unions and their government allies do not,” added Stenhouse. “Based on history in right-to-work states, unions will go to great lengths to obfuscate the truth and make it as difficult as possible for workers to exercise their rights. We have already been contacted by workers who were brushed aside when making honest inquiries about the Supreme Court ruling.”

The website further includes links to an opt-out page where an official letter, requesting exit from the individual’s specific union, can be automatically created and printed, as well as links to a page where individuals can indicate that they choose to remain in their union.

The Center’s multi-year ‘worker freedom’ campaign in the Ocean State had a soft-launch in July and, already, many public employees have opted to leave their union, deciding to keep more of their paychecks for their own families. Ongoing, the My Pay My Say RI campaign will include email, direct mail, traditional and digital advertising, as well as other outreach vehicles.

For more information visit the MyPayMySayRI.com website or follow us on Twitter at @MyPayMySayRI.