Bargaining

JEFF JACOBY makes an important distinction between public-sector unions and their private-sector counterparts. But he overlooks a larger truth. It was the existence of strong unions in all sectors that created a robust middle class. It was only during their heyday that wealth was equitably distributed. Public-sector collective bargaining is the essence of democracy - not its antithesis. Walt Gardner Los Angeles

Special Town Meeting is scheduled to assemble at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Wareham High School. Voters who attend will be asked to approve a collective bargaining agreement between the town and library employees; fund an arbitration award to the Wareham Police Union; and spend $19,900 to purchase a 2012 Dodge Ram to replace a police pickup truck that was totaled in a crash. They will also consider a petition that would require candidates seeking office to be registered to vote for at least a year before elections.

IF THERE'S one thing that's broken in Boston, it's the collective-bargaining process. Contract negotiations with major unions are usually protracted and testy, while needed changes are often limited, late, and easily undermined even after being agreed upon. Today, two well-known local academics will present a plan aimed at reducing the rancor in negotiations and replacing the thicket of work rules that restrict flexibility with more collaborative decision-making. "We are either going to take a major step forward by using the modern tools of negotiations or risk frustrating the public and...

Major League Baseball management has fired Shyam Das, the arbitrator who overturned Ryan Braun's drug suspension in February. MLB informed Das and the players' association of its decision last week. Das had been baseball's permanent arbitrator since 1999, part of what technically is a three-man panel that also includes a representative of management and labor. "Shyam is the longest-tenured panel chair in our bargaining relationship," union head Michael Weiner said. "For 13 years, from the beginning to the end of his tenure, he served the parties with professionalism and distinction.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A panel of Ohio lawmakers made a bill to limit collective bargaining rights for 350,000 public workers even tougher for unions yesterday, as the state moved closer to Wisconsin-style restrictions. A Republican-controlled House labor committee voted 9 to 6 along party lines to send the bill to the full House. Its approval of the legislation was met with chants of “Shame on you!’’ from the several hundred demonstrators gathered outside the hearing room.

Special Town Meeting is scheduled to assemble at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Wareham High School. Voters who attend will be asked to approve a collective bargaining agreement between the town and library employees; fund an arbitration award to the Wareham Police Union; and spend $19,900 to purchase a 2012 Dodge Ram to replace a police pickup truck that was totaled in a crash. They will also consider a petition that would require candidates seeking office to be registered to vote for at least a year before elections.

The Massachusetts Senate voted last night to curb the collective bargaining rights of police officers, teachers and other municipal employees, making it likely the overwhelming Democratic state will limit union power in an effort to ease budget woes. The voice vote, with barely any debate, came a month after House lawmakers approved similar legislation in hope of saving cities and towns $100 million in the next budget year. Governor Deval Patrick has indicated he is eager to sign the bill once the two branches hash out their differences.

While three Newton legislators have gone on record as supporting a controversial proposal to strip municipal unions of some of their bargaining rights, Mayor Setti Warren praised the merits of negotiation when he signed contracts with two of the city’s largest unions this month. Warren won’t comment on whether he supports the measure, contained in the state budget, which would give cities and towns some power to change employee health insurance coverage without union approval.

MADISON, Wis. — Governor Scott Walker signed into law yesterday a measure that eliminates most union rights for public employees in Wisconsin, saying he had “no doubt’’ that support for the measure would grow. The ceremony quietly concluded one phase of the debate over collective bargaining that had provoked three weeks of loud, relentless protests in and around the Capitol. In an interview, Walker said once the public sees government becoming more efficient, support for the changes will increase.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff The Massachusetts Senate voted tonight to curb the collective bargaining rights of police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees, making it likely the overwhelming Democratic state will limit union power in an effort to ease budget woes. The voice vote, with barely any debate, came a month after House lawmakers approved similar legislation in hopes of saving cities and towns $100 million in the next budget year. Governor Deval Patrick has indicated he is eager to sign the bill once the...

A lawyer for the king of Spain's son-in-law denied media reports that he is negotiating a plea bargain for his client with prosecutors over a corruption case that is making the monarchy look terrible at a time when everyday people are enduring acute economic woes. Inaki Urdangarin, the 44-year-old in-law, has not been charged with a crime. But he has been named a formal criminal suspect and has undergone questioning by a judge in Palma on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. Urdangarin is the husband of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia's second daughter, Princess Cristina.

CONCORD, N.H. - Four months after the same bill died on the House floor, the state Senate voted Wednesday to effectively kill a bill that would limit unions' ability to collect fees from nonunion workers. The Republican-controlled Senate voted without debate to table a bill passed by the House similar to one that Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, vetoed last year. The House, also controlled by Republicans, failed to override the veto in November, but brought the issue back this year.

WASHINGTON - A divided Supreme Court ruled for the first time Wednesday that the guarantee of effective legal representation applies to plea bargain agreements, significantly expanding the constitutional rights of defendants as they move through the criminal justice system. In a pair of cases decided by 5-to-4 votes, the court opened a new avenue for defendants to challenge their sentences on grounds that their attorneys gave them faulty advice, lawyers on both sides of the issue said.

When it comes to cellphone carriers, smaller may be better, according to a satisfaction survey of Consumer Reports' online subscribers. At the top of the ratings for standard service providers were Consumer Cellular, a national carrier that uses AT&T's network, and US Cellular, which operates in just over half the United States. Credo, which offers service to much of the country on Sprint's network, also bested the major carriers. AT&T, America's second-largest carrier, again found itself at the bottom of the ratings.

INDIANAPOLIS - Does $1,244 sound like a Super Bowl bargain if it includes a game ticket, hotel reservations, and airfare? It should, because it is. The Fletchers, a family from Gardner, Mass., feel blessed that they are paying just over $1,000 a person, considering it is a pittance compared with what they could be shelling out, with some game tickets alone costing upward of $2,750, well over face value. They cut corners to arrive in Indianapolis without paying even more, flying into Pittsburgh for $150 a person, borrowing a friend's car, and driving the six hours to Indianapolis to avoid the...

A PROPOSED ballot initiative about teacher seniority has come along at a delicate time for public education in Massachusetts. Even as state and local education officials are working through more rigorous ways of evaluating teachers, the education-reform group Stand for Children is mounting a ballot initiative to ensure that performance in the classroom trumps seniority when it comes to staffing decisions. If the initiative passes in November, it would counter the "last in, first out" layoff provisions in some school districts and the so-called "bumping" of young, talented teachers by...

Major League Baseball management has fired Shyam Das, the arbitrator who overturned Ryan Braun's drug suspension in February. MLB informed Das and the players' association of its decision last week. Das had been baseball's permanent arbitrator since 1999, part of what technically is a three-man panel that also includes a representative of management and labor. "Shyam is the longest-tenured panel chair in our bargaining relationship," union head Michael Weiner said. "For 13 years, from the beginning to the end of his tenure, he served the parties with professionalism and distinction.

NEW YORK -- In another sign the NHL season is slipping away, the league yesterday canceled its All-Star Game because of the lockout. No regular-season games have been played since the season was scheduled to begin on Oct. 13, and NHL arenas have been given the go-ahead to release dates on a 45-day rolling basis. With the All-Star Game now off the schedule, the next announcement could be the cancellation of the entire season. "To call off something that's a lot of fun for the fans to enjoy is a shame," said nine-time All-Star Jeremy Roenick of the Philadelphia Flyers.

The state's highest court confirmed yesterday a little-known judicial power to ignore prosecutors and shorten criminal sentences in plea deals if the judge believes "justice may not have been done. " In a 6-to-1 decision, the Supreme Judicial Court decided to make it clear that judges are allowed to shorten sentences because of mitigating circumstances. The court also asserted that prosecutors cannot revoke a plea deal if a judge shortens the agreed-upon sentence. Justice Francis X. Spina, the sole dissenter on the ruling, worried that it could open the door to judges using their power to act...

As a way to save money to fuel his love of skiing, Jared Antista started an online ski networking group. The New England Ski Networking Association is now some 700 members strong since its birth in the fall of 2010. Between 20 and 40 people ages 25 to 35 usually show up for a Saturday outing in the mountains, according to Antista, a 32-year-old Nashua, N.H., skier who works for a start-up sports and fitness company. With a NESNA group discount, a skier saves $15-$30 off a lift ticket depending on the ski area.