Biweekly pay
The issue of biweekly pay may seem insignificant to AFL-CIO secretary/treasurer George Nee, but to local companies and to the state’s image as being business friendly or business unfriendly it has considerable importance.
Rhode Island is unique in its insistence that companies pay hourly workers weekly, rather than allowing businesses to issue paychecks biweekly. A bill now before the legislature would change this and put Rhode Island in step with the rest of the country.
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Nee says business should abandon such “insignificant” battles and get on with the more important issues that labor and business can address jointly, like improving our economy. But that is exactly what this issue is about.
When we signal the nation that we are out of step with an issue even as “insignificant” as biweekly pay, we signal the nation that we are a state in which our legislature is more apt to disregard business friendly issues whenever it faces labor opposition.
Nee fears that if companies go out of business workers might not see their last paycheck, and suggests that what biweekly pay allows is for big corporations to play with workers’ money.
Nee also suggests he has heard from a number of business people who confirm that the difference in cost to a company of issuing pay weekly or biweekly is “insignificant.” But to the small business the costs are not insignificant, and to the large multi-state company that has to treat its Rhode Island payroll differently from the rest of the company’s facilities nationwide, it is not insignificant.
So, if the issue is so insignificant to the AFL-CIO, we suggest they drop their opposition to change and get on to the more important issues, like working cooperatively to improve our state’s economy.
An open legislature
We are surely disappointed in Atty. Gen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s opinion that the state legislature is not subject to the state’s open meetings law. Whitehouse says that because of the constitutional separation of powers the legislature makes its own rules.
We join those who have called on Gov. Lincoln Almond to seek an advisory opinion from the state Supreme Court.
We find few things in government more appalling or dangerous than to conduct sessions, with few exceptions (personnel and delicate negotiations), behind closed doors.
A government that at will can close its doors to the public – whether it chooses to or not – can only create suspicion and ill feeling.
If the state Supreme Court upholds Whitehouse’s opinion, then we would urge the legislature to quickly enact legislation that makes it subject to the open meetings law, assuring open government, with free and easy access to the people for whom it serves.
Privately funded port
We agree with GoPort, the coalition that supports a container port at Quonset/Davisville, that any port construction should be done solely with private funds and not at taxpayer expense.
GoPort took that position only after consultants reviewed the various options before the stakeholders group and concluded that seven of the 40 options it reviewed would meet the needs of shippers and environmentalists, while achieving the state’s economic projections.
Of the seven finalists, the consultants found that four would not require “taxpayers dollars.” Those are the four then that the stakeholders should consider in their final meetings, expected to conclude by the end of this month.
Rhode Islanders have invested heavily in Quonset/Davisville through the third rail, infrastructure improvements, and Route 403 extension.
It is encouraging that we do have options that don’t require additional taxpayer investment and that apparently are environmentally acceptable. We are certain to hear additional debate over these issues in the waning moments of the stakeholders process, but now it’s time for decisions and to move to the next stage of developing an environmentally, economically viable and privately funded port facility.
Go Port!
