Letter: Editorial attacking unions does not tell the whole story

Posted 5/2/19

I would appreciate your reporting on your sources relative to the editoria, “ Unions, take a bow ."

What you reported has never been my experience as a State of Rhode Island Department of …

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Letter: Editorial attacking unions does not tell the whole story

Posted

I would appreciate your reporting on your sources relative to the editoria, “Unions, take a bow."

What you reported has never been my experience as a State of Rhode Island Department of Human Services employee (retired). All too often I personally worked through breaks, lunch and after hours due to staff shortages and federal mandates regarding eligibility.

Case decisions must be made within 30 days from application. Failure to comply could lead to federal fines, not to mention sanctions relative to the Food Stamp (SNAP) program.

If you really wanted to write about something newsworthy, I would suggest the UHIP travesty costing $346 million, which remains in a diabolical state. The company hired had/has no clue on the workings of federal programs and the fact that they do not parallel each other. Ex: Cash, SNAP, Medicaid, LONG TERM CARE. Even a novice could tell you that one system could not possibly work for all the variations in the programs administered.

Instead the Phoenix decided to bash unions. I wonder how the Stop & Shop strikers feel. Without their union, these workers, some of whom with 20-plus years, would more than likely be out of a job or at the very least unable to support themselves and their families.

Ask Lifespan workers who do not have a union. Their counterparts who are unionized received a pay increase and the non-union did not — Rhode Island Hospital vs. Miriam Hospital.

Tell us something newsworthy.

Linda Jackson
Bristol

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.