Last week, the Senate approved a bill which would keep the terms of teacher contracts in effect until new contracts are negotiated.  Basically, unions could continue working under the terms of their last contract, and cities and towns wouldn't be able to do much about it.  I don't like this legislation, and evidently I'm not the only one.  The Rhode Island Statewide Coalition had this to say:

"This obviously removes any incentive for unions to negotiate, and comes close to transferring the largest element of town budgets from town councils to the unions," according to a coalition news release. "Unions could run forever with their current contracts without town governments having any ability to modify the terms, other than by declaring bankruptcy.

"This law would set a precedent for other government unions and thereby lock town and state budgets into permanent cost of living increases, minimal health care co-pays, and the other lopsided union benefits that could no longer be negotiated because the existing contracts would remain in force forever, regardless of their nominal end dates." If set into law, the coalition believes bankruptcy will be the "only effective method left for negotiation of union contracts"