Maryellen Butke: Binding arbitration would be disaster for students, localities
Jun 28, 2011 | Permalink
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This new policy would take decisions out of the hands of elected officials and professional educators and weaken the voice of students and local taxpayers along the way. Perhaps most troubling, binding arbitration incentivizes arbitrators to avoid making challenging choices in the best interest of the public. Why? Arbitrators' continued employment relies on both negotiating parties to pick them as their arbitrator of choice. This leads to decisions being made on narrow, lowest-common-denominator thinking. Rhode Island has made great leaps forward in the past few years in the effort to transform our schools. Binding arbitration would be a costly step backwards that would reverse much of the progress we have made. Our message to the General Assembly is simple: Do what's best for kids and reject binding arbitration. The writer is executive director of the Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement. 
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Projo blogs
Everyone knows it's a disaster. If it passes might be the end of Democrat rule in this state. So, I'm hoping it passes!
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Wfy is it a disaster...isn't it decided by an independent arbitrator......doesn't he pick the fairest solution....are you people against FAIRNESS....Do you have a fairer solution, lets hear it...Oh that's right, you're a republican ...just keep screwing the little guy...give the pay raises and benefits to your buddies who are living large.
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Do what's best for the kids!.....ha ha ha ...come on Maryellen, are strikes best for the kids? work to rule? unhappy workers?...when you don't treat people fair, you lose in the end.....sorry my mistake...."the kids" lose in the end.....what happened in EP.....the supt. made the teachers go out for recess the past winter when there was no need of it, aids handled the recess...the teachers had been using that time to help students who needed that extra help.....who was the losers...the kids....Maryellen, don't let politics get in the way of fairness to the teachers and the kids....your pocketbook is not the priority here.
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Coleman Young sponsored binding arbitration when he was a Michigan state senator. Years later after he became Mayor of Detroit, he said it was a mistake because it destroys a city's fiscal management. Just google his name and binding arbitration. You'll get the results of these onerous laws from someone who created one.
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it is time to abolish public sector unions. with moronic legislation like this, they are cutting their own throats. hopefully this will pass. than we can have "fair" arbitration by union hacks like sen. tassoni, who is a retired union hack and will be a labor arbitrator.he is a shining example of what is wrong with this state and why it will go belly up. pass it, GA...perform the coup de grace.
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Taxation without Representation. Violation of Article 4 Section 4
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