ANNALS OF LABOR Last-minute session backs minimum wage hike BY BRIAN C. JONES

Organized labor may be hurting elsewhere. But in Rhode Island, it seems politically vigorous, and no more so than on Tuesday, July 15, when it helped the economic circumstances of more than 57,000 workers. On that day — as the General Assembly met to override Republican Governor Donald L. Carcieri’s veto of the state budget — labor won twin victories.

One was the veto override itself. The governor had nixed the spending plan in part because the General Assembly spurned his proposal to cost-shift a portion of pension plan payments from state and local governments to teachers and state workers. By overriding the veto, the General Assembly, spared public employees a two percent pay cut. On average, that saved 12,000 teachers $1000 a year, and 15,400 state workers, $766.

The second victory was more surprising (the veto override was a near certainty, given the legislature’s overwhelming Democratic and labor-friendly makeup), and that was the revived proposal to raise the state’s minimum wage. At the close of the legislature’s regular session, it looked as though an estimated 30,000 minimum wage workers wouldn’t win a hike in their wages to $6.75 an hour — a 60-cent boost worth $1248 annually for a 40-hour week.

The House had passed the measure April 29, with a 61-to-6 vote. But the measure stalled in the Senate, and then seemed lost as the General Assembly rushed to adjourn July 3.

But two prominent leaders came to the rescue, although hardly as a team: One, of course, was Carcieri. By vetoing the budget, he assured that the assembly would reconvene. That provided the opportunity for the other major player — George H. Nee, the secretary-treasurer of the state AFL-CIO, and a minor force of nature at the State House — to resurrect the minimum wage proposal. The AFL-CIO has 80,000 current and retired members, and Nee is an old hand at working with like-minded groups, such as Progreso Latino and the Center for Hispanic Policy and Advocacy (CHisPa).

Typical of the lobbying efforts was an e-mail sent out by the worker-advocacy group, Rhode Island Jobs With Justice, on the day of the override session, urging that e-mails be sent to Senate President William V. Irons.

Nee wouldn’t say what happened behind the scenes, but just as the General Assembly was about to convene, the labor leader, as if reading from a script, outlined what later did take place.

The Senate session began, then quickly recessed, so its Labor Committee could meet. The panel met for four minutes to approve identical House and Senate bills. The full Senate approved the minimum wage measures, one getting a 32-to-5 vote. About an hour later, the House approved the pair, one getting a 51-to-7 tally.

At this writing, it was unclear where Carcieri stands. " His first priority is to grow the economy and create good jobs, " his spokesman, Jeff Neal, said prior to the vote. " He has not specifically addressed the minimum wage. It’s something he has to study. "