WARREN - State Rep. Fausto Anguilla (D-Dist. 68) said he will not change his vote on a controversial bill recently passed by the Rhode Island General Assembly, despite an effort by a powerful union to get him to change his mind.

For more than a week, child care workers organized by the Service Employees International Union District 1199 in Providence have been knocking on doors in his district, asking voters to call and ask him to change his stance on the "Family Child Care Act" recently passed by the General Assembly but vetoed by Gov. Donald Carcieri.

The law, trumpeted by union officials and many legislators, was passed by the assembly in mid-June. It allows child care workers to unionize and bargain collectively with the state, but almost immediately after it passed, Gov. Carcieri vetoed the measure. In order for the bill to become law, the General Assembly must override the veto. That won't happen unless legislators like Mr. Anguilla change their votes.

Though those who support the law believe it gives a new voice to thousands of child care workers in the state, Rep. Anguilla and other opponents believe it will establish a dangerous precedent in giving collective bargaining power to "independent contractors."

"This would set a dangerous precedent, allowing any group regulated by the state to form a union in order to water down state regulation and increase reimbursements to groups that receive state payments," said Mr. Anguilla.

Mr. Anguilla, who represents parts of Bristol and Warren, was one of two Democratic legislators in the East Bay — Walter Felag of Warren was the other — to vote against the law. He believes it will result in higher taxes and set a dangerous precedent, and said he will vote to uphold Gov. Carcieri's veto despite canvassers' attempts to get him to change his vote.

"I think it's bad for the state," he said.

Not all agree. Rep. Anguilla received about 70 telephone calls over the weekend from constituents who had been visited by workers in recent days. Most, he said, read from what appeared to be a prepared script.

"It was basically saying they are disappointed with my vote, but that I could redeem myself by overriding the veto," he said Monday.

He said he wanted to return constituents' telephone calls, but was unable to in many cases because many called from cellular telephones provided by the canvassers. While he said he encourages residents to get informed on important issues, he believes constituents didn't get the whole story from the union workers.

"The problem was most people were getting partial or misleading information," he said.

While there may be misleading information out there, it is not coming from the union, said District 1199 spokeswoman Dawn Le. The union is trying to set the record straight, she said.

"There is a lot out there, but a lot of it has come from the governor," said Ms. Le. "Is this really about unionizing? Or is it about bringing home-based child care workers into the decisions that govern their lives?"

Ms. Le said the new law will help protect some 1,300 family child care providers across the state. Until now, she said, home-based providers weren't considered in the decisions that, made at the state level, regulate the child care industry.

"We just want to be involved," she said. "Home-based providers provide nearly a third of the services" in the state.

Ms. Le said the intent of the neighborhood canvassing is not to intimidate or put pressure on Mr. Anguilla. She believes the legislator has been fed as much misinformation as anybody, and he needs the facts to make an informed decision.

"It's not his fault," she said. "The governor has put a lot of false information out there about the cost of all this. It does not cost the taxpayers anything."

Nevertheless, Mr. Anguilla said canvassers, not he, are misinformed. When he noticed one in his neighborhood and went out to talk, he was put through by phone to a representative at the state union district office.

"I said, 'Hey, you want to come into my district and spread what I think is partial or misleading information? I'm not going to take it lying down.' "

BY TED HAYES

thayes@eastbaynewspapers.com