PROVIDENCE – The state’s largest public employees union is immediately appealing a R.I. Superior Court judge ruling this morning that will allow Gov. Donald L. Carcieri to go forward tomorrow with the first of one dozen government shutdown days.
Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, has petitioned the R.I. Supreme Court to immediately review the decision of Superior Court Justice Michael A. Silverstein.
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Also, union lawyers are seeking a restraining order from the Supreme Court against Carcieri, arguing that that his executive order on the shutdowns “violates the Rhode island Constitution and constitutes unilateral action with respect to the terms and condition of Council 94’s members’ employment,” said a court filing by the union.
Yesterday, Council 94 and several other unions representing state workers had requested an instant injunction from Superior Court to prevent Carcieri from moving ahead with the government shutdowns until an arbitrator could decide whether it was allowable. The governor’s actions amount to a 4.6 percent pay cut for most state employees.
In response, the Carcieri administration motioned to block the unions’ request pending arbitration. Silverstein granted the administration’s motion this morning.
Silverstein’s decision, for now, allows Carcieri to go forward with the shutdown days, the first of which is scheduled for tomorrow.
But that could change later today. Court spokesman Craig Berke said both sides are scheduled to present arguments on the union’s restraining order request before a Supreme Court duty justice in a closed session at 1:30 p.m.
The plan to shut down state government for a total of 12 days between September and next June is part of Carcieri’s plan to close a $67.8 million hole in the 2010 state budget. The closures would save about $21.6 million, assuming that other branches of government agree to participate.
While both the legislative and judicial branches have not stating publicly that they will cooperate with the shutdowns, Carcieri has notified the courts that sheriffs and Capital Police will not available, making it difficult to operate the courts on those days.
As of now, the scheduled closure days are: Sept. 4, Oct. 9, Oct. 30, Nov. 27, Dec. 24, Jan. 15, Feb. 15, March 12, April 2, April 23, May 28 and June 11. All those days are Fridays except Christmas Eve, which is a Thursday, and Feb. 15, which is a Monday and the day that President’s Day is observed.
