RI Progressive Democrats of America

July 25, 2016July 25, 2016

RI Progressive Dems urge Clinton to withdraw Raimondo appointment

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The Executive Board of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats wishes to express extreme displeasure that Hillary Clinton would name Governor Gina Raimondo as a co-chair of the Democratic convention. While this role is purely ceremonial, it indicates that some of Clinton’s advisors may consider Raimondo an acceptable figure within the national Democratic party, a sentiment that would be deeply chilling. Raimondo’s politics represent a brand of conservatism well to the right of basically anyone of prominence in the national Democratic party. Deeply unpopular in Rhode Island, Raimondo is known for her aggressive push to restrict women’s access to abortion coverage through plans sold on Rhode Island’s exchange. She is also one of the most aggressive proponents of pension cuts, which Democrats just voted to oppose in our party platform. She has been a feisty advocate of expanding fossil fuel infrastructure, and she even opposes repealing Rhode Island’s tax cuts for the rich. A former private equity executive, Raimondo epitomizes an extreme type of Wall Street politician. After the withdrawal of banker Antonio Weiss, the national party has had an informal rule against Wall Street appointees for top posts. Raimondo appears to violate that rule.

We ask that the Hillary Clinton campaign withdraw this appointment. We believe it is crucial for the Hillary campaign to send a signal that they will not be considering Raimondo for any posts in a Hillary administration, an event that would place the even more right wing Dan McKee in power. McKee is such a far right Democrat that we took the completely unprecedented step of urging voters to support his Republican opponent Catherine Taylor, and the AFL-CIO went further and openly endorsed Taylor.

Moreover, we urge Hillary to make it clear that she, the national Democratic party, and the DSCC will oppose Raimondo in the primary should she attempt to take a US Senate seat in the future. Raimondo is so unpopular in Rhode Islanders that she could easily lose to a Republican. In fact, she only won by four points against a weak GOP opponent in a state that Obama won by 27 points. A Raimondo nomination is the GOP’s only path to a US Senate seat from Rhode Island, and it is of utmost importance that the national party prevent such a debacle. The national party has often intervened in primaries to stop weak nominees from jeopardizing a Democratic US Senate seat, most recently in Pennsylvania. We urge Hillary Clinton to make clear she will do the same in Rhode Island to prevent a Raimondo nomination and a GOP victory, should Raimondo attempt to take a US Senate seat.

June 20, 2016June 20, 2016

Wage theft law gets teeth

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Wage theft in Rhode Island may be a much bigger problem than robbery. And, as Steve Ahlquist previously reported, even high profile violators may be getting away with a slap on the wrist with workers left with little recourse.

Thanks to a bill introduced by Representative Shekarchi and Senator Nesselbush, now passed by the House and Senate, that will change upon the Governor’s signature.

In written testimony supporting the bill, the Rhode Island chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America (RIPDA) summarized how the bill makes a difference:

The bill improves the current law in several ways. First, in redefining “employee,” the protected class is broadened to generally include “independent contractors” (minus the groups that have been specifically excluded). Second, it provides for the State to suspend a non-compliant business’ license. Third, it allows employees to recover double damages and attorneys’ fees from a wage-stealing employer.

Not only does this bill deter unscrupulous employers from stealing from employees with suspension of a business’ license, but, for those who are deprived of their rightful wages, the bill gives a real solution. Instead of merely filing with the Department of Labor and Training, employees will be able to sue directly and recover twice as much as was stolen from them. Attorneys are encouraged to take meritorious cases — if successful, the employee’s lawyer is entitled to be paid by the employer.

The most financially vulnerable among us are targets of wage theft. The biggest challenge remains: Employees need to be aware of their rights, and have the courage to seek legal help when standing up to unethical and manipulative bosses.

June 7, 2016

Ethics complaint filed against Rep Bill O’Brien

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Sam Bell, state coordinator of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats of America (RIPDA), filed an ethics complaint against Representative William O’Brien (District 54) last week. Bell alleges that when O’Brien ran for office in 2009 and 2011, he failed to file his first two required financial disclosure statements. Candidates are required to file financial disclosure statement for the preceding year.

A conservative Democrat from North Providence, Bill O’Brien was found to have plagiarized large portions of his website. Currently, O’Brien is facing a primary challenge from Democrat Bill Deware, a progressive and labor activist.

“Financial disclosure forms are vitally important,” said Bell in a statement, “Without them, we have no idea where politicians receive their income. Given that the [Raymond] Gallison scandal seems to be related to lawmakers’ income, tracking where politicians make their money is especially important.”

May 10, 2016

Grim Wisdom Podcast #11

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Hello RI Future! Here’s a podcast I recorded recently with Sam Bell. I’ve been doing this weekly for a few months now and have finally caved to public pressure to make it available here to all of you! I hope you enjoy it! New podcasts will be up every week. Just so you know, the overarching theme of the podcast is that we’re going to give you insights into the nature of existence that will depress you. As it happens, we seem to spend a lot of time talking about RI politics, because it’s such an insightful and depressing topic. Set your expectations accordingly…

January 7, 2016

STEP fights corporate welfare at City Hall with a carnival atmosphere

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A petition signed by nearly 400 Providence residents was delivered to City Hall Thursday night by STEP (Stop Tax Evasion in Providence) calling on Mayor Jorge Elorza and the City Council to reject four ordinances that would authorize $3 million in tax breaks to connected developers.

Details on Elorza’s tax breaks for existing properties

Mayor Elorza offering tax breaks Candidate Elorza opposed

The Extraordinary Rendition Band played outside City Hall in support of the protest and then lead a march inside, up the stairs and eventually into the City Council chambers. Seven police officers were on the scene.

At the same time the protesters arrived, people were arriving for the Bike the Night with Mayor Elorza event. The STEP protesters were eager to engage with the Mayor about the proposed tax breaks, but Mayor Elorza did not make it to the bike event that bore his name, citing a conflict.

City Council President Luis Aponte told me that the Council is “taking a real hard look” at the proposed tax breaks, noting that there is some affordable housing in the mix of properties under discussion, and these may need to be subsidized. Aponte also said that he’s “not sure” if the tax breaks amount to $3 million, assuring me that the actual number will come out as the City Council examines the proposals.

Sam Bell, executive director of the RI Progressive Democrats of America and STEP member called the proposed tax breaks “corporate welfare.” The tax breaks are to be awarded to a bunch of very well-off people who don’t want to pay their fair share in taxes, says Bell. These properties have already had over a decade of tax breaks, he said, and if they can’t get the numbers to work, they need to go to the banks and refinance. Otherwise, these tax breaks amount to a “bank bailout.”

John Jacobson, who organized the petition delivery, arrived in a Santa suit and called the proposed deal corporate welfare and “crony capitalism.”

“We shouldn’t live in a city where if you have the right last name or are connected you don’t have to pay taxes,” said Jacobson. He spoke to the crowd gathered outside the Counicl chambers for some time, explaining the background of the tax breaks connected developers have come to expect in the city.

The STEP coalition also includes Unite Here Local 217 and organizers Jenna Karlin and Heather Nichols-Haining attended the protest.

Candidate Elorza told the RIPDA that he was opposed to granting tax breaks to developers that didn’t generate positive revenue for the city. Mayor Elorza has yet to explain why he changed his mind on this issue.

January 5, 2016January 6, 2016

Mayor Elorza offering tax breaks Candidate Elorza opposed

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As a candidate, Jorge Elorza promised that tax deals would not be given out unless Providence could profit from the deal in some way. Mayor Elorza, however, seems intent on perpetuating the kinds of bad practices that lead inevitably to higher tax rates for home owners.

When the RI Progressive Democrats of America (RIPDA) were in the process of interviewing candidates for Mayor of Providence in search of the group’s endorsement, they took the liberty of recording the interviews. One of the questions that the group posed to then candidate Elorza was about Tax Stabilization Agreements (TSAs) which are essentially massive tax breaks given by the city to what it considers to be worthy investments. The idea behind TSAs is that a company might want to build in Providence, and in order to lure the company here, a tax break is given. This might spur building and development, and if used properly, is arguably a good idea.

However, in practice, these tax breaks are not doled out in ways that might spur growth or development, but are given out to developers who have back room connections to City Hall. It’s cronyism at its worst, and it costs Providence home owners directly, as their taxes are raised to cover the breaks given to insiders.

According to the Progressive Democrats, “The deals pending before the city right now are even more egregious than usual. That’s because the development has already happened. There’s no question of encouraging development–the developers want their special tax deals to continue. This is just giving the city’s limited tax dollars to big developers. Pure and simple.”

Sam Bell, executive director of the RIPDA, said, “One of the things that really inspired us about Elorza when he was running was his commitment to crack down on the abusive culture of corporate welfare. It’s very sad to see him change his tune now that he’s won.”

You can watch Elorza answer the question about TSAs below.

See more here: Details on Elorza’s tax breaks for existing properties

September 18, 2015

RIPDA gives Mike Araujo the Progressive Hero award

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Mike Araujo of Restaurant Opportunities Center RI and the One Fair Wage Coalition was given the Progressive Hero award by the RI Progressive Democrats of America (RIPDA) last night at a fundraising event held at Ogie’s Trailer Park in the West End of Providence. RIPDA Coordinator Sam Bell presented the award, noting that the award is usually given to a politician.

Araujo, in his acceptance speech, radicalized the event by calling attention to the ongoing labor struggles of hotel workers downtown, saying, “I can’t help but think that, right now, downtown, there’s a picket line going on because there are hotel workers being treated unfairly by The Procaccianti Group… We all profit from [the abuse of low wage workers]when we don’t think about it…

“As a movement we’ve never been courageous enough to say that we’re going to bend back the teeth of capitalism by organizing, we’re going to break off the fangs of militarism by teaching, and we’re going to share the wealth that we all build together by organizing every worker into a union that can defend them through their own means.”

August 27, 2015

Progressive Dems call out conservative Warwick mayoral candidate

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What was supposed to be a casual meet and greet for the Warwick Progressive Democrats quickly went downhill when Sam Bell, the state coordinator for the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats, called out Democratic Warwick mayoral candidate Richard Corrente’s merits, saying that he’s an embarrassment to the party.

Corrente’s campaign has been an all around unorthodox one. He began campaigning for mayor last December, with almost two years until the next election. Corrente has also released a publication called “Warwick Taxpayers News,” which some believe suggest that he may align more with the Tea Party, rather than the Democratic party. The first page reads that Warwick is “Taxed Enough Already,” stylized to spell out the word “TEA.”

His main objection to current Mayor Scott Avedisian’s administration is that he has raised taxes every year for the past 15 years. Because of this, Corrente said, Warwick has lost 5,800 taxpayers in the last ten years, and has closed 4,666 businesses.

“If we keep going the way we’re going, we’re going to be a ghost town in six or seven years,” he said. “I disagree with that. I don’t think that’s the way it should be. I want to cut taxes, I want to cut spending, and I want to repopulate the city of Warwick so that we don’t have 9,000 people in our schools when we used to have 19,000.”

Corrente is dedicated on running for the Democratic ticket, even though some doubt that he’s actually a Democrat, and would effectively represent the party.

“We need to elect a mayor of Warwick who is a Democrat, […] but it’s important that Warwick have a Democratic mayor, and a Democratic mayor who cares for Democratic values,” Sam Bell told meet and greet attendees. Bell then proceeded to read Corrente’s publication aloud, blatantly stating that it does not align with progressive Democrat values.

“I believe in Democratic values. I think it’s an embarrassment that Warwick has a so- called Democratic candidate for mayor, who, inside his booklet for a fundraiser, says “TEA” as his slogan. We don’t need a Tea Party Democrat,” Bell said after the meeting. “It epitomizes everything that’s wrong with the Rhode Island Democratic Party. I think that a city like Warwick, which has some decent Democrats on the council, can do a lot better. It’s an embarrassment, and I want the folks in Warwick to know that. Warwick needs a better Democrat running for mayor.”

Jennifer Siciliano, the Warwick Progressive Democrats Coordinator, was also somewhat perplexed by Corrente’s campaign.

"Taxed Enough Already" — “Taxed Enough Already”

“He should probably be running as a Republican, but he probably assumes that Avedisian will get the Republican nomination, so he’s just trying to run as a Democrat,” she said.

“I’ve seen conservative Democrats but not this far conservative,” she added. “I think its beyond conservative.”

Even with the criticism, Corrente not only remains positive, but adamant about running as a Democrat. When asked exactly what a “Tea Party Democrat,” was, he said, “a progressive Democrat.”

“I consider myself a progressive Democrat,” he said. “I want to do what’s right. Whether it’s raise taxes or lower taxes, and in this case it’s lower taxes.”

Corrente added that he doesn’t believe in TEA, but rather TBARD, which stands for “Taxed Beyond All Reason.” He believes that Warwick taxpayers are at a point where they are unable to pay the taxes, and will move away from the city.

His reasoning for running as a Democrat can be boiled down to the fact that he doesn’t believe in labels, but thinks that one is necessary for such a situation.

“I am running as a Democrat, because although I am fiercely independent, if I had to pick a party, it would be the Democratic Party,” he said.

“I don’t believe in labels. I don’t believe in Republican labels or Democratic labels. I don’t believe that if you are striving for a certain principle, it makes you a Democrat, or it makes you a Republican,” he added. “I consider myself progressive, and I consider myself a Democrat.”

Corrente said he would not entertain the idea of running as an independent because he believes a candidate is more respected if they belong to a particular party, and have a label they can be associated with.

“A candidate that belongs to the Democrats or the Republicans has a personality that can be associated with. It labels them a little bit more- they stand for something. Therefore, I think the independent voter will respect a candidate more, if they are represented by the Democrats or the Republicans,” Corrente said.

Warwick’s mayoral election is still over a year away, but if Corrente does succeed in winning the Democratic ticket, he’ll be fighting an uphill battle against Mayor Avedisian, who has been mayor since 2000.

July 9, 2015

PVD City Council fails to deliver on minimum wage promise in new TSAs

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Last year, after the General Assembly stole away the power of cities and towns in Rhode Island to set their own minimum wages, Providence City Councillor John Igliozzi told a packed room of disappointed hotel workers that the city was not prohibited from imposing higher minimum wage standards via tax stabilization agreements (TSAs), which are contracts between cities and private industry, and cannot be interfered with by the General Assembly.

Igliozzi said then that all future TSAs should include strong minimum wage requirements and many other worker protections and rights.

Igliozzi is the chair of the Providence City Council Finance Committee, so one would expect that he would follow up on this proposal, but so far, nothing like this has been incorporated into the new TSAs being cooked up in City Hall and expected to be voted on this week.

When Jesse Strecker, executive director of RI Jobs with Justice, testified before the Finance Committee of the Providence City Council, he presented a short list of proposals to ensure that whatever TSAs were adopted would truly benefit not just the investors and owners of billion dollar corporations but also the working people and families of Providence.

Strecker’s list included the following:

1. Provide good, career track jobs for Providence residents most in need by utilizing apprenticeship programs and community workforce agreements, hiring at least 50% of their workforce from the most economically distressed communities of Providence, with a substantial portion of that workforce made up of people facing barriers to employment such as being a single parent or homeless, or having a criminal record, offering job training programs so local residents are equipped with the skills necessary to perform the available jobs and hiring responsible contractors who do not break employment and civil rights law;

2. Pay workers a living wage of at least $15 per hour, provide health benefits and 12 paid sick days per year, and practice fair scheduling: offering full time work to existing employees before hiring new part time employees, letting workers know their schedule two weeks in advance, and providing one hour’s pay for every day that workers are forced to be ‘on call’;

3. For commercial projects, create a certain number of permanent, full-time jobs, or for housing developments, ensure that 20% of all units are sold or rented at the HUD defined affordable level. Or, contribute at an equivalent level to a “Community Benefits Fund,” overseen and directed by community members providing funding to create affordable housing, rehabilitate abandoned properties, or finance other community projects such as brown field remediation; and

4. Present projected job creation numbers before approval of the project, and provide monthly reporting on hiring, wages and benefits paid, and other critical pieces of information, to an enforcement officer, overseen by a Tax Incentive Review Board comprised of members of the public and appointees of the city council and mayor, to make sure companies are complying with their agreements, and be subject to subsidy recapture if they do not follow through.

Mayor Jorge Elorza submitted an amendment mandating that under the new TSAs, “projects over $10 million will be eligible for a 15-year tax stabilization agreement that will see no taxes in the first year, base land tax only in years 2-4, a 5% property tax in year 5 and then a gradual annual increase for the remainder of the term.”

In return, the “agreements include women and minority business enterprise incentives as well as apprenticeship requirements for construction and use of the City’s First Source requirements to encourage employment for Providence residents.”

But that short paragraph above contains few of the proposals suggested by Strecker.

Supporting the Jobs with Justice proposals are just about every community group and workers’ rights organization in Providence, including RI Building and Construction Trades Council, Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), UNITE HERE Local 217, IUPAT Local 195 DC 11, District 1199 SEIU New England, RI Progressive Democrats of America, Teamsters Local 251, Fuerza Laboral / Power of Workers, Environmental Justice League of RI, RI Carpenters Local 94, Restaurant Opportunities Center RI (ROC United), Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, American Friends Service Committee, Occupy Providence, Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA), Fossil Free RI, Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Prosperity for RI, and the Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School Prison Health Interest Group.

April 18, 2015

Protest against the Trans Pacific Partnership in Providence

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On Friday over 20 people representing Occupy Providence, RI Sierra Club, RI MoveOn, RI Progressive Democrats of America and the RI Coalition to Defend Human & Civil Rights gathered outside the Federal Building near Kennedy Plaza downtown to protest the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that protesters described as “a corporate power grab disguised as a trade deal.”

Twelve nations are negotiating the terms of the TPP, including the United States, Japan, Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, and Brunei Darussalam. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), TPP “is a secretive, multinational trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement.”

The EFF has identified two main problems, that “leaked draft texts of the agreement show that the IP chapter would have extensive negative ramifications for users’ freedom of speech, right to privacy and due process, and hinder peoples’ abilities to innovate” and that the “entire process has shut out multi-stakeholder participation and is shrouded in secrecy.”

According to Pat Fontes, speaking at the protest, “No one has officially read the TPP.” Everything we know about the deal has been leaked to the public. Even our elected representatives, who will be voting on this trade deal, have not read it or understand what’s inside. In Rhode island, only Representative David Cicilline has come out against the TPP.

“Corporate courts,” says Fontes, “will impose fines that we the taxpayers will have to pay.” Corporations will have the ability to sue governments over laws that prevent companies from making “expected profits.”

Susan Walker, a student in Public Health Policy at Brown University says that “corporations will be helping to make policy.” There will be an impact on public health, as “generic drugs may be eliminated” as new rules governing patents are enacted. “Medicine will never become affordable and generic,” says Walker.

Chris Curry, of RI MoveOn, says that TPP “is based on the assumption that corporate profits take priority over everything else.” If ratified, TPP “will threaten our social safety net, including Social Security and Obamacare” as corporations sue the government over profits lost to these programs.

Barry Schiller of the Sierra Club says that TPP may allow corporations to force the repeal of environmental laws when they are deemed unprofitable.

Everette Aubin said that “TPP will make it impossible to move to green energy. If solar panels interfere with corporate profits, you’ll have to shut it down.”

Occupy Providence’s Randall Rose pointed out that “parts of the TPP are classified and not to be seen by the public until four years after passage.”

“They don’t want people to know about this,” said Rose, adding that since the trade deal NAFTA was passed, Rhode Island “lost more than half of our manufacturing jobs.”

TPP has been described as NAFTA on steroids.

Robert Malin, of the Sierra Club, said that TPP places “corporations above the laws that citizens pass.”

Though TPP is far from a done deal, the New York Times said, “key congressional leaders agreed on Thursday on legislation to give President Obama special authority to finish negotiating [TPP], opening a rare battle that aligns the president with Republicans against a broad coalition of Democrats.”

With a Republican controlled congress and President Obama in agreement, preventing the passage of TPP will require a big effort on the part of opponents.

You can download a fact sheet on TPP prepared by Occupy Providence, here.