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Bill would codify collective-bargaining protections for Department of Education professional staff after recent dispute
Summary
Representative Edwards sponsored a bill clarifying that nothing in the specified statutory section limits the collective-bargaining rights of professional, administrative and secretarial Department of Education employees, a response to a recent RIDE legal position that prompted grievances and a withdrawn declaratory-judgment filing.
Representative Edwards presented House Bill 5227 to clarify that a statutory section governing the Department of Education does not limit the right of professional, administrative and secretarial employees at RIDE to collectively bargain under existing state labor law.
Union witnesses described a recent dispute in which the Department of Education (RIDE) relied on language in the statute stating employees “serve at the pleasure of the commissioner” to challenge long-standing negotiated contract provisions. Michael Malane of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers & Health Professionals and Peg Vada, president of the RIDE professional union Local 2012 (AFT), said RIDE denied two grievances, cited the merit-system law and pursued a counterclaim in litigation arguing that negotiated contract rights were void.
Malane said the union and RIDE resolved grievances and withdrew motions without prejudice but expressed concern the matter could be raised again. He said the bill does not create new rights but codifies protections long recognized through bargaining: salary, service terms, dismissal procedures and other core employment conditions remain subject to collective bargaining.
Peg Vada reviewed historical context and said the disputed statutory language originates from a 1968 commission report that envisioned a temporary Department of Education structure; the bill, she said, restores the contemporary understanding that professional employees’ bargaining rights have coexisted with the department’s authority for more than 50 years.
Union leaders urged the committee to approve the clarification to prevent future litigation and reaffirm labor protections. The committee did not take a final vote on the bill during the hearing.
