Single-payer is better for businesses, says one expert
Dr. James Cowan has seen how health insurance works from multiple angles and both sides of the pond, consulting for the National Health Service, the United Kingdom’s public health-care system, to serving as an expert for the health-care insurer Aetna here in the United States. Now acting as an advisor for the Rhode Island Health […]
Raimondo’s pension cuts benefited hedge funds more than RI, says Brown
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Matt Brown attacked pension cuts for state employees dating back to Governor Raimondo’s previous role as state treasurer at a town-hall style “Restore Our Pensions” event at the WaterFire Arts Center in Providence on Monday evening. The event came mere hours after WPRI published polling results showing Brown lagging behind in name […]
Hundreds march as UNAP begins 3-day strike
The sound outside of Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence was deafening on Monday afternoon as hundreds of nurses and other members of Local 5098 of the United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) began their three-day strike for a fairer contract. The union’s previous contract with the hospital ended on June 30. Both […]
Hotel workers to picket Omni hotel for affordable health care
Organizers and workers from Local 26 are picketing the Omni Providence hotel on Friday afternoon to call for fairer access to affordable health care for hotel workers. Omni’s contract with the union expired at the end of this January, and the hotel has been in negotiations for a renewed deal since this May. Jonah Zinn, […]
Graduate workers at Brown dodge Trump’s labor board in historic agreement
Graduate workers at Brown University announced a landmark agreement with the university Thursday afternoon, paving the way for one of the first collective bargaining agreements for graduate employees at a private institution in the country. Graduate teaching and research assistants at public universities have long had access to collective bargaining rights, as they fall under […]
Airgas employees strike, seeking healthcare benefits akin to their European co-workers
It cost one Airgas employee who uses the company health plan more than $1,300 to get a soft cast for his son’s sprained wrist. $500 was the deductible, the other $800 is what the plan costs per month for him, his wife and son. The high cost of health insurance is one of the reasons […]
J. Goodison employees fight to form a labor union
In an attempt to convince management to recognize their efforts to form a labor union, employees of J. Goodison held an early-morning rally outside of the Quonset ship repair business. “We need a union because of the respect that we need and the unity that we need and because of the good salary that we […]
ProJo employees protest corporate greed, shrinking newsroom
Providence Journal employees publicly rebuked their out-of-state bosses with a noontime demonstration outside of the once-venerable institution’s now increasingly vacant offices and newsroom on Fountain Street. “Now that they own us there is no effort to invest in us,” said Journal reporter John Hill, who is the president of the Providence Newspaper Guild, said of […]
Video: Verizon employees in NK explain the strike
Almost 40,000 Verizon workers went on strike today, more than 1,000 of them work in Rhode Island. Four of them set up a picket line outside of the Verizon store on Ten Rod Road in North Kingstown. These Verizon employees told me one of their demands is for more high-speed FIOS to be installed in […]
What does Wisconsin want?
The Democratic Primary in Wisconsin has a lot on the line ideologically, and it could reverberate East. After Sanders swept six of the last seven contests, by a margins averaging about 75 percent, the contest moves into Wisconsin where progressivism and the unionism face a historic ideological challenge. Will Wisconsin vote for the principles of political revolution they […]
Mark your calendars for International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
On Thursday, December 17, at 6 pm, sex worker and activist Bella Robinson and the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center at 26 Benevolent Street in Providence will commemorate International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. “It’s time to change the social perception that sex workers aren’t people who deserve to live and work with dignity […]
A #BlackLivesMatter winter reading list
Race and racism is the topic of discussion in the press. Yet it remains to be seen if this discussion will include the use of the dreaded c-word (class) or dare use the g-verb of what harms people of color daily (gentrification). Here at RIFuture, we want to spice it up a little and talk about those issues as […]
A conversation with sex worker and activist Tara Burns
Recently, Bella Robinson and I had the opportunity to meet at an undisclosed location with sex worker and activist Tara Burns. She has previously written on sex worker issues for AlterNet, VICE, and The New Inquiry, among other publications, and is author of the book Whore Diaries: My First Two Weeks As An Escort. She now is […]
Bella Robinson instructs SCSU students on sex work and human rights
On Tuesday, November 10, 2015, Rhode Island sex worker activist and labor organizer Bella Robinson was hosted by Dr. Alan Brown at Southern Connecticut State University for a lecture titled Sex Work and Human Rights, part of the University’s Social Justice Week. Presented in the Adanti Student Center Theater, Robinson explained to her student audience the […]
Sex workers of Rhode Island, unite!
It is called the oldest line of work in the world and yet it is consistently denied legitimacy. But here in Rhode Island, where prostitution was legal from 1980 until 2009, some local sex workers are re-asserting their agency by organizing a labor union. “You see women get raped, you see women get murdered,” said […]
Negotiations sour between Verizon, IBEW union
Verizon worker negotiations with the company have come to a major impasse and a strike now seems imminent, says a source close to the situation who asked not to be identified. In an email to members, the IBEW said: “The Business Managers informed us that the company has started the process toward a unilateral imposition […]
The Verizon, union standoff and the future of privacy
Within the past few years, the issue of privacy in telecommunications has become a major controversy. Following the revelations by Edward Snowden and the WikiLeaks organization, the role of the providers in collaboration with the National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other law enforcement agencies has become a subject of debate. On August […]
The Verizon, union standoff and the future of customer service
Previously I posted a story regarding the current standoff between the IBEW and CWA with Verizon in regards to its impact on the labor movement. This post will discuss how a strong unionized workforce impacts the customer service of subscribers. The issue of customer service is fundamentally an issue of unionized labor. If the call […]
The Verizon, union stand-off and the future of labor
This is the first of a three-part series. Part two deals with customer service and part three deals with privacy issues. On August 1, 2015, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America contract with Verizon expired. However, unlike previous years, they decided to not strike – a move meant to […]
Groden Center employees picket, demand better wages
More than 50 staff, union reps, and concerned families chanted and picketed Thursday afternoon at The Groden Center in Providence. The gathered participants were making their concerns public in their struggle for fair wages and safe staffing practices. “At one time the Groden Center was considered an excellent school for autism,” said Cory Lafleur a […]
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