There were two big reveals at the first day of the PUC evidentiary hearing in Warwick on Monday. First, John Niland, director of development for Invenergy, admitted under oath that he knowingly gave false information to the EFSB at the March 31, 2016 EFSB hearing held at the Burrillville High School. Second, Invenergy’s proposed plant will not be clean: It’s emissions will be higher than the the current New England average of all power plants.

Everyone seemed surprised that the evidentiary hearing at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regarding Invenergy’s proposed $700 million fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant for the Town of Burrillville wasn’t packed with Burrillville residents. The Warwick police officer seated at the back of the room looked almost bored. Michael McElroy rescinded his motion to hold the hearing in a larger venue because, as his co-counsel Oleg Nikolyszyn said, “there are plenty of seats.” Of course, holding the meeting 40 minutes outside Burrillville during a work day was a surefire way to limit attendance.

The Public Utilities Commission hearing is being held to help the one PUC commissioner that did not recuse himself craft an opinion on whether or not the plant is needed and what effects the plant will have on ratepayers. The one commissioner is lawyer Herbert F. DeSimone, Jr.. Of his co-commissioners, Margaret Curran is on the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB), the body ultimately deciding on Invenergy’s application. Obviously she cannot write an advisory opinion to herself. Marion Gold is on record for having supported the plant during her stint as the executive director of the RI Office of Energy Resources. This leaves only Herbert DeSimone on the board. He will author the advisory opinion to the EFSB.

For what it’s worth DeSimone ruled early on that having only one person on the board does not violate any rules, as he will not be making any decisions, but will simply be crafting an advisory opinion.

Lawyers Alan Shoer, representing Invenergy and Jerry Elmer, representing the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), delivered opening statements. Shoer argued that the plant is needed, that it will reduce air emissions and save ratepayers money. Elmer explained that Invenergy’s promises were unlikely.

The first witness was Building Trades president Michael Sabitoni. He testified on the “socio-economic impacts of project” i.e., the jobs. Elmer objected, because jobs are not within the scope of this hearing. DeSimone overruled Elmer, saying, “I’ll allow the statement to stand but I’ll give it the weight that is appropriate.”

Under grilling from Burrilville’s lawyer Michael McElroy, Sabitoni estimated that 80 percent of the jobs created by this project will be from Rhode Island. He had no estimates on the number of jobs that will be created for Burrillville. He said that the members of his unions will be well placed to get the more permanent jobs on offer at the plant as well.

Next up was John Niland, director of development at Invenergy. His testimony stretched out for over 80 minutes, and there were some interesting exchanges along the way.

Under oath and under the examination of Jerry Elmer, Niland admitted that when he said, to the EFSB on March 31 in Burrillville, that Rhode Islanders would save $280 million on electricity after the new plant was built, he knew the number was wrong. He said that he didn’t have a better number to give, so he went with the older, wrong number. The true savings cannot be over $30 million, and could be closer to zero, maintains the CLF.

Under examination, Jerry Elmer also forced Niland to concede that Invenergy’s claim that coal and oil together account for 28 percent of New England’s energy footprint is incorrect. The true number is closer to six percent.

Niland claimed that since Invenergy sold half it’s output in the most recent energy auction, the plant is needed, by definition. Burrillville’s lawyer Michael McElroy pointed out that if only half the proposed plant’s energy is sold, then by Niland’s own logic only half the plant is needed. And if half the plant is all that’s needed, savings to ratepayers can be expected to be “substantially less.”

Niland ageed.

The growth of renewable energy sources will reduce the need for the power plant over time, said Niland. The plant has a life expectancy of 40 years. Niland knows of LNG plants still operating after 60 years. Niland admitted that Rhode Island’s dependency on fossil fuels will increase once the plant is built. If the plant is built, Rhode Island’s carbon footprint will go up, admitted Niland. Though technically, said Niland, given that RI is a net energy importer our emissions, “could be reduced.”

McElroy was not happy with Niland’s caveat. Within Rhode Island’s borders, asked McElroy, “Emissions will go up, correct?”

“I believe so,” said Niland.

McElroy asked about why Burrillville was chosen as a location for the plant. Niland said that the location was chosen due to its proximity to the Algonquin gas pipeline and electrical transmission wires. (Both of which were updated recently, I should note.) Niland’s job is to locate and develop projects like the one planned for Burrillville. He was initially lured here because of the state’s high energy prices, near $17 a killowatt hour. The new lower prices at the recent energy auction, closer to $7, will probably reduce interest in bringing large projects like this to the region, said Niland. If an energy plant doesn’t clear the energy auction, said Niland, it isn’t needed.

The next and last witness for Invenergy was Ryan Hardy. Hardy is the person who prepared Invenergy’s report that calculated the rate savings should the plant be built. Jerry Elmer began his cross examination by handing Hardy a calculator and asking him to run the numbers, based on Invenergy’s own specs. After a long pause, Hardy came up with the plant producing 817 pounds of CO2 per megawatt hour. Hardy’s written testimony was 760 pounds. Ryan countered that he was basing his number on estimates of actual plant use, which he estimated to be about 70 percent of capacity. The numbers Elmer had him calculate were maximum possible output.

Also, said Hardy, the plant will be “primarily run on LNG, never on fuel oil, unless gas is not available.”

However, both of Hardy’s estimates are over the New England average, meaning that the plant can’t reduce emissions, because the plant’s emissions are higher than the average plant emissions in New England.

Elmer asked Hardy about ratepayer savings next. “Was your analysis of FCA-10 [the electricity auction] based on selling both turbines?”

“Yes,” said Hardy.

“Were you wrong about that?”

“Yes.”

“Was it reasonable for Niland to estimate savings of $280 million when he knew otherwise?”

“Yes,” said Ryan.

You can read Jerry Elmer’s thoughts about day one of the hearing here.

Rhode Island building and trade unions are working with a Koch brother-funded astroturfing campaign to fight against renewable energy, an email obtained by RI Future reveals.

Michael Sabitoni, president of the Rhode Island Building & Construction Trades Council, had distributed to union members and legislators an email from Paul Hartman of Energy4US, a shadowy oil industry insider, asking if “someone from your shop could add a comment or two” to a Facebook post that labeled Energy4US as a “‘big oil’ entity,” according to the email.

Efforts to contact Mr. Sabitoni were unsuccessful.

“We are thrilled to have the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council on board with Energy4US and I look forward to working with you and your members in the future,” said Hartman in the email.

Energy4US is an astroturfing campaign attempting to raise support for fossil fuels and downplay the expansion of renewable energy sources. In Rhode Island, Energy4US has concentrated on opposing the carbon tax bill proposed by Representative Aaron Regunberg. Astroturfing “is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by a grassroots participants.”

On June 20 Paul Hartman, the coalition advisor for Energy4US, sent Sabitoni the following email:

In the email Hartman notes the existence of “a few comments on Facebook” that call Energy4US out as an astroturfing group, or in the words of Hartman, “only a ‘big Oil’ entity.” Hartman asks Sabitoni if “someone from your shop could add a comment or two to the post highlighting your collective concerns with such proposals.”

Sabitoni promptly forwarded the email to three recipients under the header, “Energy4US and RI Carbon Tax proposal” saying:

Scott send this out to all b[uilding] t[rades] reps…Faith put this up on our web site please…thx M

Here’s the Facebook post in question, with a link to the ‘op-ed’ –

According to Frackorporation, “Energy 4 Us lists no one by name with regards to staff or contact… To the casual viewer it appears to be an independent “grassroots” group.” Paul Hartman, who identifies himself as Energy4US’s coalition advisor in his email to Sabitoni, is mentioned as the Regional Director, State Affairs for America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) in the Frackorporation piece. Hartman does not list his involvement with Energy4US on his LinkedIn page.

In an email Hartman confirmed that he has “recently come on board as the Coalition Advisor.” He answered none of my questions regarding the claims that Energy4US is an astroturfing group, instead claiming that, “E4US is a collaboration of diverse organizations from across the northeast who have an interest in affordable, reliable energy for our families, employers, employees, communities, schools, hospitals and the most vulnerable among us.”

They are listed on the website, seen below, second from the bottom of the list. Hartman wrote, “I would encourage you to check back often to see the growth of the collaboration and check our social media feeds for educational posts on national and regional energy issues.”

The Rhode Island Building & Construction Trades Council is listed as a member of the Energy4US coalition, along with many other union groups such as the New York State Iron Workers District Council and the Connecticut State Building Trades and Construction Council. Also listed on the website as a coalition member is the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM). The AFPM is yet another coalition, of big oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Citgo and Koch Industries, among others.

The Burrillville Town Council opposes legislation moving through the State House that would give local residents greater say on the tax agreement between the town and the proposed fracked gas power plant.

“The ill-conceived legislation before the General Assembly that purports to give residents a voice in the matter – in fact does the opposite,” said a letter released to RIPR’s Ian Donnis last night. “It weakens the Town Council’s ability to protect its residents and obtain financial compensation for hosting the proposed power plant.

The documents were released to Donnis by Dyana Koelsch, retained by the Town Council to handle public relations on their behalf. Koelsch, a former journalist-turned-public relations consultant, told me in a phone conversation last week she was retained by the Town Council to facilitate better communication between the Town Council and local residents.

The release of these documents seems to have come some time after the House passed Representative Cale Keable‘s bill, H8420 Sub A, which, if it becomes law, will allow the voters of Burrillville the opportunity to approve or reject any proposed tax treaty the Town Council makes with an power plant by popular vote. In recent days opposition to this bill has been ramping up, with Invenergy purchasing a full page ad in the Providence Journal on Saturday, an op-ed co-signed by Laurie White of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and Michael Sabitoni of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council on Sunday, and a bellicose tirade on the Journal’s editorial page yesterday.

Despite the opposition of business leaders and unions the Keable bill passed the floor 64 to 7 as Burrillville residents applauded. You can watch the vote below and see the reaction of Burrillville residents below. The difference between the votes reported above and the votes pictured is due to some legislators entering their votes late.

The release of the Burrillville Town Council letter opposing the Keable bill provoked a flurry of responses on social media. At about 10:30pm Burrillville City Councillor David Place confirmed that the letter was indeed accurate when he commented on Burrillville resident and power plant opponent Jeremy Bailey’s Facebook page.

The reaction from Burrillville residents has been negative and angry:

• “I have NEVER seen such political BS in my life!!!“
• “Has to be a back room deal going on ! Obviously representing Invenergy’s interest over the citizens!!!!“
• “This is very disappointing and kicks us in the gut ! These council people are traitors and sneaky too, it’s not fair to the towns people!“

It’s unclear when the Town Council decided to write the letter, or if that decision was made at a public meeting.

The timing of the release is strange, since tomorrow evening there is a Town Council meeting scheduled, with public comment. Past Burrillville Town Council meetings have been contentious. Tomorrow night’s promises to be explosive. Why the Town Council would choose to invite the approbation of their constituents is a mystery. There is talk of a recall election for the four Town Councillors not up for re-election this fall.

The most startling thing about the documents released is that they contain details of the town’s negotiated tax deal with Invenergy, details that the Town Council has previously stated must remain secret while being negotiated. Though the tax deal is not yet done, the Town Council says there is “an agreement in principle on the following:”

• $2.9 million upfront payment – $1.2 million in guaranteed payments even if the EFSB denies the application
• $92 million – $180 million guaranteed payments over the next 20 years
• Protection for property owners near the proposed power plant site through a property value agreement
• Fully binds future owners if the plant is sold or otherwise transferred
• Protection for Town residents into the future by locking in place a decommissioning plan

The Town Council claims that the legislation weakens the Council’s ability to protect its residents and obtain financial compensation for hosting the proposed power plant, strips the Town Council’s negotiating leverage that can force Invenergy to compensate the town, and jeopardizes efforts to put financial safeguards in place for residents near the power plant and compromises an agreement for the decommissioning of the plant.

I reached out to Jerry Elmer, a Senior Attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, overnight and he was kind enough to send me some notes on the various documents, which I will quote in full beneath the page he references.

Elmer said, in summary, “The bottom line is this:  The members of the Town Council of Burrillville know, with absolute certainty, that the sweetheart deal they are negotiating with Invenergy would be overwhelmingly rejected by the voters of Burrillville if the voters of Burrillville got the right to vote on it.  The members of the Town Council are correct in their assessment.  That is why they are urging that the Keable-Fogarty Bill be rejected.”

From Jerry Elmer: “Document 2, page 1, bullets at the bottom:  Town Council claims it has remained “neutral” on whether the plant should be built in order not to taint its comments to the EFSB.  Two things must be said about this.  First (and maybe more important), these documents show that the Town Council has not remained neutral, and that the Town Council very much wants to enter into a Tax Treaty with Invenergy.  The Town Council is urging defeat of the Keable-Fogarty bill which would give the people of Burrillville the right to vote on such a (possible, future) tax treaty.  That is not “remaining neutral.”  Second, the Town Council has (very seriously) misunderstood what kind of “neutrality” is required of it by Rhode Island law.  The Town Council has consistently refused to discuss the proposed Invenergy plant, even at public meetings, called pursuant to the state’s Open Meetings Act, even with a stenographer present.  The Town Council pretends that this is being “neutral,” but this is merely ignoring constituents.  And, crucially, this refusal to discuss the Invenergy proposal in open meetings is not required by any Rhode Island statute, law, rule, or regulation, including the state’s Open Records Act.”

From Jerry Elmer: “Document 2, page 1, bullets at the bottom:  Town Council says that the purpose of the tax treaty is “to properly compensate Burrillville” if the Invenergy plant is built.  However, what constitutes a “proper” level of compensation is a judgment call, about which reasonable people may disagree.  The main effect of the Keable-Fogarty Bill would be to return that judgment call to the people of Burrillville.”

From Jerry Elmer: “Document 2, page 3, bullet half way down page [above], Town Council says:  Having a tax treaty is a “guarantee of full taxability” of Invenergy.  This is factually incorrect, and it is inconceivable to me that the Town Council is not fully aware of that fact.  There is today, in the Town of Burrillville, a background, already-existing tax law that would cover this power plant (just as every municipality in Rhode Island, and indeed the United States, has an existing, background law on how to tax the real estate of individuals and businesses).  The only reason that Invenergy wants a tax treaty with the Town of Burrillville is in order to get a different, lower tax rate.  This makes sense:  Invenergy will not negotiate with the Town for a higher tax rate; no business would do that, because it makes zero business sense.  The reason that Invenergy would not negotiate for a higher tax rate is that Invenergy, without any negotiations at all, could get the currently existing tax rate.  The only purpose of a tax treaty is to give the applicant (here, Invenergy) a lower tax rate than the existing one.  This is true of this tax treaty, just as it has been true of every tax treaty since tax treaties were invented.  In other words, when the Town Council says that a tax treaty is meant to be a “guarantee of full taxability” that statement is just factually incorrect.”

From Jerry Elmer: “Document 2, page 2, Town Council says that having a tax treaty in place “eliminates costly appraisals” and “eliminates volatility in future appraisals.”  On these two points, the Town Council is speaking the literal truth, but in a deeply misleading way.  These statements of the Town Council are factually accurate, but what is left unsaid is that, if the Keable-Fogarty Bill is defeated, that defeat will eliminate the right and ability of the people of Burrillville to vote on a Tax Treaty that may be reached between the Town Council and Invenergy.  Let me use an analogy:  I am threatening to murder you in cold blood.  Before I do it, I tell you to think about the many “advantages” of being dead:  you’ll save money on food, you’ll save money on rent, and you’ll never again go to a movie that you end up not liking.  What I am saying is literally true, but what I am saying is misleading (in the extreme).  So, too, with the Town Council statement.  A tax treaty would eliminate costly appraisals — and would eliminate the right of the people of Burrillville to vote on a sweetheart deal reached between the Town Council and the people of Burrillville.”

Tomorrow the Senate takes up their version of the bill, S3037 in Senate Judiciary at 2:30pm in room 313 in the State House. The Burrillville Town Council meets tomorrow evening at 7:00pm in the Town Council Chambers, Town Building, 105 Harrisville Main St., Harrisville.

They offer a program of let the rich do anything they want even if everyone else knows it is a very bad idea that will hurt the community and needlessly damage the planet and the climate. The power plant is a very short term fix and a very bad investment for Rhode Island.  By the time the plant reaches the end of its useful life, much more of Rhode Island will be under water and the people will have demanded that the damn thing be shut down.

The politicians, the Chamber, and labor unions have to understand the economy has changed and the way forward for our communities is ecological healing and economic justice.

Right now the only difference between authoritarian states and democracies is that in democracies the people can stop the corporate raiders with their votes and demand rules that keep the planet and their kids healthy.

That you call out against democracy and for special interests shows what this struggle is really about.

Ed. note: This piece was originally published on ProsperityForRI.com, the author’s blog. He shared it with both RI Future and the Providence Journal.

The union members want the plant to be built because of the more than 300 jobs that will be created.

As Burrillville resident Jeremy Bailey took to the podium to speak, a man held a sign in front of his face, preventing him from being seen by my camera. Bailey took the sign out of his face and cast it away, immediately provoking an angry response from other union members. An attempt was made to grab the microphone away, Capitol Police moved in, and things became highly confrontational and chaotic.

You can watch some of it in the video below.

As near as I can determine, no arrests were made, and no one was asked to leave the State House. Up until that moment, the rally had been going as planned. Afterwards, several Burrillville residents complained about the behavior of some of the union members, saying they were “rude” and “showing their true colors.”

Speakers included Senator Paul Fogarty and Representative Cale Keable, who introduced a bill, H8240 which, if passed, would give the voters in Burrillvile the ability to approve or reject any tax treaty the town council negotiates with Invenergy. The bill was heard after the rally in the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. I’ll have another post later today with the testimony on the bill.

You can watch the first part of the rally below:

• Labor, citizens clash over power plant in Burrillville

Further reading:

• Burrillville Town Council claims to be powerless against Spectra, Invenergy
• Burrillville Town Council argues with, disappoints residents on gas expansion project
• Power plant already adversely affecting Burrillville property values say realtors
• Burrillville state reps in the hot seat over Invenergy power plant

It has been a long wait, but the people of Burrillville finally got their chance to speak out on the Clear River Energy Center (CREC), Invenergy’s proposed $700 million gas and oil burning electrical plant last night. The Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) held the first public comment hearing in the Burrillville High School auditorium, which holds 600 people. More than 100 people were outside, unable to get in. Hundreds of people signed up to speak, only 48 people got to do so.

The EFSB board is made up of Margaret Curran, chair of the RI Public Utilities Commission and Janet Coit, director of the Department of Environmental Management. The third seat on the board has recently been filled, since Parag Agrawal has been hired as the associate director of the Rhode Island Division of Planning. He begins his new job on April 18, so should be at the next EFSB hearing.

Tensions were high in the auditorium. Michael Sabitoni, president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council and over a hundred union members arrived early, and many Burrillville natives resented their presence. One speaker from Burrillville claimed that the union members were “intimidating.” A union speaker objected to this, calling the accusation of intimidation, “B.S.”

As near as I can tell, the eight speakers in favor of the power plant were all union members. They made their case based on the 300 construction and 24 permanent jobs that would be created. Sabitoni said that he’s run into meetings like this before, where a community shows up to complain about a large project to be built in their town. He dismissed the concerns of Burrillville citizens as NIMBYism.

Donna Woods was the first speaker, and she was set the tone for the evening. She said that there is a fear that the decision to approve the power plant has already been made, despite Curran and Coit’s insistence to the contrary. During Wood’s testimony, Curran broke protocol and addressed Wood directly, insisting that no decision has been made.

“Many of us feel that we’ve been screaming underwater,” said Woods, “This is real life stuff and we’re really afraid.”

Residents of Burrillville and the surrounding communities are worried about the noise, air pollution, water pollution, the destruction of a pristine environment to make room for the power plant and their property values, which are already dropping. But many speakers spoke of the environmental dangers of fracking, about helping to prevent global warming and sea level rise, and about our greater duty to future generations.

Burrillville has experienced environmental disaster first hand. Well water was contaminated years ago with MBTE from a leaking gas station gas tank. MBTE causes cancer, and many in the auditorium last night have friends and relatives who suffered and died. Between the gas pipeline compressor stations, the Ocean State Power Plant and the MBTE disaster, many residents feel, in the words of one speaker, that, “Burrillville has given enough.”

Invenergy began the public comment hearing with a presentation. I wrote about this 30-60 minute long presentation and questioned the need for it here. Curran introduced the presentation saying it would last 20 minutes, but in fact it lasted longer, much closer to the originally estimated 30 minutes. After cutting the presentation short for time, Curran said that the full report was on the EFSB website, which is a point I made in my piece. An additional six members of the public could have spoken had Invenergy not been needlessly granted that time.

The frustration that the citizens of Burrillville feel about the proposed Invenergy power plant and the EFSB process is only expected to magnify over the next weeks and months. Frustration with their elected leaders in the Town Council, General Assembly and state wide offices is widespread and no one should be surprised if Burrillville seeks change in the upcoming elections.

The next public comment meeting is scheduled for 6pm, Monday, May 23.

• Full video of the EFSB hearing can be seen here
• Burrillville Town Council claims to be powerless against Spectra, Invenergy
• Burrillville Town Council argues with, disappoints residents on gas expansion project
• Power plant already adversely affecting Burrillville property values say realtors
• Burrillville state reps in the hot seat over Invenergy power plant

RhodeWorks

The idea of installing 14 tolling gantries and charging trucks up to $20 to transport goods through our state is key to Governor Gina Raimondo’s plan to generate the funds needed to repair Rhode Island’s crumbling bridges and roads. There is a logic to this: Trucks are heavy and do the most damage to the roads so they should pay their share.

In her State of the State address, Governor Raimondo said, “While we’re at it, let’s reject the politics of procrastination and pass RhodeWorks.” Both House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed have strongly supported the program.

The revised RhodeWorks plan is cheaper, and is to include a strict prohibition on tolling cars without a public referendum. “Generally,” said Mattiello, “I don’t like referendum questions.” But he included this feature in the truck toll bill to cut off opposition to the plan based on the slippery slope: tolling trucks will now not lead to tolling cars without a majority vote from the public.

At the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce (GCPP), Mattiello said, “I’ve thought about this more than any of you care to.” Mattiello says he’s consulted experts on the economic impact, and that the “experts say it is going to improve the economy… I don’t know any way to do this without listening to the experts.”

The GCPP is a strong, vocal supporter of the truck toll bill, as are the Building Trades. Michael Sabitoni, President of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council was a welcomed, if surprising guest at the GPCC luncheon.

After the GPCC luncheon, about five hundred members of the various building trades and their allies showed up at the State House to express their support for RhodeWorks. So many union members showed up it took over an hour for them all to enter through the metal detectors. There was supposed to be a speaking program from union leaders, and maybe it happened, but I had to leave.

It didn’t matter. Labor made their point. They want (and need) the jobs that come with fixing our bridges and roads.

Rhode Island needs to repair and upgrade its infrastructure and government, business and labor are all in agreement that the debate as to how to pay for it is over: The plan is RhodeWorks.

The power and pressure being brought to bear, to make sure that The Procaccianti Group (TPG) got their multi-million dollar Tax Stabilization Agreement (TSA) was enough to bend reality, as a five member committee was whittled down to three members and the final vote unanimous in favor of TPG.

City Hall was electric with meetings being conducted behind closed doors. What happened in the Finance Committee room was theater, the real deals were all made out of sight. The Finance Committee meeting seemed meticulously planned so that when it started, it would fall like a string of dominoes in favor of moneyed interests and to the detriment of hotel workers.

At issue was a 13-year TSA for the Fogarty Building site downtown, where TPG wants to build a new nine-story hotel. The building trade unions want the hotel, it will provide a couple years worth of good jobs. The hotel workers want the hotel and the jobs it will provide as well, but they wanted an amendment to the TSA “calling for workers to earn 1 1/2 times the federal poverty rate, or more than $14 an hour.”

Good wages for hotel workers are important. TPG is notorious for paying poorly, and the company requires their workers to do much more than workers at competing downtown hotels. Then there’s the steady stream of injuries to workers in TPG hotels. Unionization efforts at the Renaissance Hotel have dragged on for years and only recently did the hotel win a vote to unionize. Without the amendment, a new hotel full of underpaid, overworked and at-risk workers will be coming on-line even as Renaissance workers finally realize a fair contract.

On one side of the Finance Committee meeting room was Mayor Elorza’s Chief Operating officer, Brett Smiley, RI AFL-CIO leader George Nee, Michael Sabitoni, business manager for the RI Laborers’ District Council, state senator Josh Miller, a pile of lawyers and TPG reps, and prominent members of the Providence business community. Council President Luis Aponte stood nearby and monitored the proceedings.

Hotel workers and Unite Here! organizers, vastly outnumbered and outgunned, sat opposite.

Finance Committee Chair John Igliozzi was the city councilor who once suggested tying TSA’s to better wages way back in June, 2014. When it came time to amend the TSA, however, he was silent. Councilors Kevin Jackson and Sabina Matos were also silent, save to deliver the lines required to vote the TSA to the full City Council for final approval next month.

Missing from the committee meeting was Councilor Terrance Hassett, whose day job is Senior Investigator in the Workers’ Compensation Fraud and Compliance Unit at the Department of Labor and Training. He, like two other members of the finance committee, works for the state. It is well known that Governor Gina Raimondo wants this project to proceed. On background I was told that city council members were afraid of losing their jobs if they interfered with the deal, but nobody wanted to go on record.

(Given this, Providence voters might want to reconsider electing council members with state jobs.)

Hassett was a no show, but Councillor Carmen Castillo, a hotel worker herself, was there. She put her purse and coat down into her chair, then left the room to talk off stage with someone. While she was out of the room the Finance Committee meeting started and attendance was called. She was marked absent.

As the meeting got underway Castillo entered the room, recovered her purse and coat, and left without explanation.

There were three members left of the five member committee, enough for a quorum. As hotel workers looked on, the TSA was passed out of committee without the amendment they had requested. Millions of dollars in tax breaks were given to TPG.

There were smiles and handshakes all around as one half of the room erupted in enthusiastic conversation. Finance chair Igliozzi pounded his gavel for order, there was still the city’s contract with Local 1033 to be decided, so $40,000 worth of fine business suits moved outside and into the hallways, and eventually outside into the street.

The hotel workers gathered in a corner on the third floor so that a translator could explain to some of the Spanish speaking members what had happened.

But they understood.

This was government as business and business as usual.

Nearly three hundred workers representing over a dozen different unions, as well as family members, gathered outside the Verizon offices on Washington Street in Providence to rally in support of 900 IBEW 2323 members who are entering their second month of working without a contract. When the contract with Verizon expired on August 1st at midnight, 39,000 IBEW & CWA, from Massachusetts to Virginia, were affected.

Even as Verizon demands cuts in job security, health care and retirement security, and even seeks to eliminate benefits for workers injured on the job or caring for a sick family member, the company “made over $18 billion in profits over the last 18 months–$1 billion per month–and paid its top executives $249 million over the last five years,” according to a press release.

Meanwhile, here in Rhode Island, “many of our neighborhoods are suffering from neglected phone and internet services… Verizon has even refused to build their new high-speed internet lines, FiOS, in low income communities, communities of color, and rural areas, again claiming poverty as the reason they can’t put people to work doing much needed repairs.” Workers see these areas as growth opportunities for Verizon, and are eager to “string the lines.”

• The Verizon, union stand-off and the future of labor
• The Verizon, union standoff and the future of customer service
• The Verizon, union stand-off and the future of privacy

After IBEW workers David Fontaine and Bill Dunn opened the event with “The Star Spangled Banner,’ a steady stream of union officials and one state representative took the stage, promising to support workers in their bid to negotiate a fair contract. Over all their message was simple: Stay strong, organized labor has your back, and we can win this fight.

Below is the video of the speakers.

Dan Musard, IBEW 2323

Jim Riley, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 328

RI State Representative Ken Marshall

Chris Buffery, Asst Business Agent, IBEW 2323

Maureen Martin, AFL-CIO

Michael Sabitoni, Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council

Matt Taibi, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 251

Frank Flynn, Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals

Paul MacDonald, Providence Central Labor Council

Michael Daley, IBEW 99

Mike Araujo, RI Jobs With Justice

Steve Murphy, Business Manager, IBEW 2323