There’s still no news about the status of talks happening behind closed doors between lawyers for for the state and public-sector labor unions who are working to resolve the fight over Rhode Island’s landmark 2011 pension law without going to trial.

Attorneys on both sides of the case met Friday afternoon with R.I. Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter, who is handling the suit, court spokesman Craig Berke told WPRI.com. In December, she ordered the state and the unions into a formal mediation process overseen by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The lawyers met with Taft-Carter in her chambers for about 20 minutes to update her on the progress of the mediation process, Berke said. The parties have said they aren’t allowed to detail their discussions publicly. Friday’s meeting was the fifth status conference on the pension talks since February.

Taft-Carter has scheduled the next status conference for June 7, Berke said.

• Related: EngageRI: Why the law is OK (March 18) | Prof: Law may be unconstitutional (Dec. 24)

Lawyers for the state and public-sector labor unions are apparently still talking behind closed doors in an effort to resolve the fight over Rhode Island’s landmark 2011 pension law without going to trial.

Lawyers on both sides of the case met Monday afternoon with R.I. Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter, who is handling the suit. In December, she ordered the state and the unions into a formal mediation process overseen by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The lawyers met with Taft-Carter in her chambers for about 45 minutes and updated her on the mediation process’s progress, court spokesman Craig Berke told WPRI.com. The parties have said they aren’t allowed to detail their discussions publicly. This was the fourth status conference on the pension talks since February.

Taft-Carter has scheduled the next status conference for May 17 at 2 p.m., Berke said.

• Related: EngageRI: Why the law is OK (March 18) | Prof: Law may be unconstitutional (Dec. 24)

By Dan McGowan

He may not be ready to confirm that he’s running for governor in 2014, but Providence Mayor Angel Taveras certainly appears to be putting the pieces together for a statewide campaign.

Taveras is in Los Angeles today where Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is hosting a fundraising for the first-term mayor, according to campaign finance director Peter Baptista. Records show Sanchez previously contributed $1,000 to Taveras’s mayoral campaign in 2010.

In addition to the fundraiser, Baptista said Taveras plans to meet with “major Democratic donors” while he’s in California.

Taveras had just over $413,000 in his campaign account as of Dec. 31, trailing only General Treasurer and likely Democratic primary opponent Gina Raimondo among those considering a run for governor. Raimondo had $1.36 million in her war chest by the end of 2012.

The fundraising trip out west comes a week after the Providence City Council unanimously approved a pension settlement with the city’s police and fire unions and retirees that Taveras says will save the city $18 million. If they do run against each either, Taveras will likely tout his pension changes efforts over Raimondo’s statewide reforms, which are currently tied up in court.

Aside from Taveras and Raimondo, Cranston Mayor Allen Fung, former Congressional candidate Brendan Doherty, former Congressman Bob Weygand and Moderate Party Chairman Ken Block are considering a run for the state’s top job. Gov. Lincoln Chafee has indicated he intends to seek re-election.

Chafee on Monday was named the most vulnerable governor in country for 2014 by the New York Times’ FiveThirtyEight blog.

Dan McGowan ( dmcgowan@wpri.com ) covers politics and the city of Providence for WPRI.com. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan

Lawyers for the state and public-sector labor unions continue to talk behind closed doors about whether they can resolve the fight over Rhode Island’s landmark 2011 pension law without going to trial.

Lawyers on both sides of the case met Monday morning with R.I. Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter, who is handling the suit. In December, she ordered the state and the unions into a formal mediation process overseen by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The lawyers met with Taft-Carter in her chambers for about a half-hour and updated her on the mediation process’s progress, court spokesman Craig Berke told WPRI.com. The parties say they aren’t allowed to detail their discussions publicly.

Taft-Carter has scheduled the next status conference for April 22 at 2 p.m., Berke said.

• Related: EngageRI: Why the law is OK (March 18) | Prof: Law may be unconstitutional (Dec. 24)

By Dan McGowan

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – The city is still managing its finances “like a family living paycheck to paycheck” and any retiree seeking to opt-out of a proposed pension settlement “becomes a problem,” Providence’s director of administration Michael D’Amico told a R.I. Superior Court judge Wednesday.

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Talks aimed at resolving organized labor’s legal challenge to Rhode Island’s landmark 2011 pension law will continue behind closed doors for now.

Lawyers for both sides of the case met Thursday morning with R.I. Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter, who is handling the case. In December, she ordered the state and the unions into a formal mediation process overseen by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The lawyers met with Taft-Carter on Thursday for a status conference that lasted about 30 minutes, court spokesman Craig Berke told WPRI.com. “Mediation is continuing,” he said. The parties aren’t allowed to discuss the progress of their discussions publicly.

Taft-Carter has scheduled the next status conference for March 25 at 9:30 a.m., Berke said.

• Related: ‘Pension law may be unconstitutional,’ RI law professor warns (Dec. 24)

Hours before firefighters planned to picket her fundraiser, Treasurer Gina Raimondo reminded them that she opposed efforts last year by Governor Chafee, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and others to pass legislation suspending pension cost-of-living adjustments in their contracts.

“I do think it’s important to point out I was a staunch advocate in support of protecting and respecting collectively bargained-for agreements for those firefighters, and I still stand by that,” Raimondo told WPRI 12′s Nicole Estaphan on Monday at the State House.

Raimondo also took the opportunity to defend “the long process” that led to the pension law, and suggested Chafee is going the wrong way by holding closed-door talks with union leaders to discuss a possible settlement to end their lawsuit against it.

“Before the General Assembly passed this historic legislation they had dozens of hours of hearings and give and take and a lot of back and forth and negotiation at the time that led to the final passage of the bill,” she said. “Having said that, at some point as part of this process if the courts asks the parties to sit down and mediate we will do that in good faith.”

“I don’t know if [lawmakers] have ever spent more time on any other piece of legislation,” Raimondo added. “They held a special session. They looked at every possible scenario. The labor leaders were present for every part of the discussion.”

• Related: Firefighters organizing pension protest at Raimondo fundraiser (Dec. 10)

• Update: Raimondo says she respects union pacts

Treasurer Gina Raimondo will have some uninvited guests at her fundraiser in Providence tonight.

Paul Valletta, president of the Cranston firefighters union, confirmed to WPRI 12′s Tim White that his members will be picketing outside a campaign fundraiser Raimondo is holding Monday night at Rick’s Roadhouse to coincide with the Patriots’ appearance on Monday Night Football.

“It’s just our way to say that we haven’t forgotten what the general treasurer did to many state workers, police officers, teachers and firefighters,” Valletta told White on Monday. “It hasn’t been forgotten that people’s lives have been changed negatively when they didn’t have to be.”

Valletta famously argued during last fall’s debate over the new pension law that Raimondo had “cooked the books” by getting the Retirement Board to change investment and actuarial forecasts in ways that worsened the pension fund’s finances. Raimondo said the new numbers were more accurate.

The R.I. State Association of Fire Fighters has asked all off-duty members to join the protest, writing in an email that it’s “very likely that she will be making a run for the governor’s seat next election.” Valletta said some police officers may show up, as well, but they don’t want to cause “a mess on the street.”

“One of the issues we are focusing on is the age issue: with the change to the pension you are going to have firefighters stay into their 60s and 70s to get a full pension,” he said.

Echoing an argument gaining steam of late, Valletta said Raimondo should have negotiated changes to the pension system at the bargaining table with organized labor rather than having state lawmakers approve the changes unilaterally.

​(photo: ProvidencesRestaurant.com)