No Really...Pull My Finger..."

Here's a portion of the article in the Projo today regarding the state employees unions' fight to prevent shutdown days because the state can't afford it....


"PROVIDENCE — State government will open on Friday after all, as a result of a temporary stay issued by Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg that put the kibosh on the first of Governor Carcieri’s 12 government shutdown days.
State workers in matching green T-shirts cheered outside the courthouse. But the celebration was short-lived.
Little more than an hour after the judge ruled, Governor Carcieri said the judge left him “with no option but layoffs.”
He said layoff notices would go out within a week to the last 1,000 union and non-union people hired, which presumably would include the state’s new Medicaid director and education commissioner. “It should greatly disturb every state employee and every Rhode Islander that labor leaders are willing to sacrifice people’s jobs so they can maintain their stranglehold on the citizens of this state,” Carcieri said."


That last sentence by the governor is SPOT ON. No, really.... that's fine. People who are in the unions pay their dues and the union leaders say they are there "to protect their members". Well..how is the choice of MORE for some and ZERO for others ANY kind of fair representation
or protection. It shows arrogance, power-hunger, and a severe lack of common sense. Of course, in THIS state, the unions are so entrenched that people actually PUT UP WITH THIS.
The legislature is elected and charged with making a budget. In RI, the legislature is ruled by democrats. They DIDN'T create a budget that the state can live within. In fact, they increased spending. Now the REPUBLICAN governor - a lone member of his party in this sea of Democrats - must do something.

(from the projo) "The 12 shutdown days are a key part of (governor) Carcieri’s response to the $67.8 million in unspecified savings that lawmakers directed him to produce in the new state budget they adopted in June. While leaving the actual cost-cutting decisions to him, they required “reductions of 6.25 percent of recommended salary and benefits.” "


He proposes 12 shut down days.... even suggesting that employees could work out WHICH days so that it would be to their benefit AND allow the state services to stay in operation. But the unions fight it. And so now their must be layoffs.
And the ignorants of the state will say it's because of the governor, because, well, he IS a Republican. Right. Her eat the center of legislative and elective Democratic corruption.
How lame. How disgusting.