PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A retired Rhode Island Supreme Court justice was hired to mediate between the Providence Teachers Union and the state’s Department of Education in contract negotiations.
The two parties agreed to hire Frank Flaherty, who retired from the state’s highest court last year, to mediate during contract negotiations, the Boston Globe reported on Tuesday.
The two sides will split Flaherty’s hourly fee of $350 per hour, Department of Education spokesperson Emily Crowell told the newspaper. He started attending negotiation meetings several weeks ago.
The teachers have been working without a contract for the past year and relations with the education department have been acrimonious. Some 270 teachers were informed Friday that they will need to apply for different jobs this spring as a result of ending one-year positions and failure to meet certification requirements for teaching students whose first language is not English.
In response, the vast majority of the union’s 2,500 members approved a vote of no confidence in state Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green.
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