Rhode Island

Half of Massachusetts residents support legalizing teachers’ strikes • Rhode Island Current

Published

2 years ago

April 17, 2024

Half of Massachusetts residents support legalizing teachers’ strikes • Rhode Island Current

Massachusetts state leaders have said they have no appetite for changing Massachusetts law to make it legal for public teachers to go on strike, but public opinion is more on the union side. In a new CommonWealth Beacon/GBH News poll, 50% of state residents favored legalizing teachers’ strikes, while 34% said strikes should remain illegal, and 16% said they were unsure or did not answer (toplines, crosstabs).

The survey, conducted by the MassINC Polling Group, comes on the heels of strikes in five Massachusetts school districts over the last two years. It is illegal for public sector employees to strike in the state, but that hasn’t stopped a wave of walkouts signaling a more militant posture on the part of teachers’ unions. The longest – and most recent – strike closed schools in Newton for two weeks in late January and early February.

The poll results point to a strong degree of sympathy for teachers’ efforts to secure better pay and other changes, even if it means shutting down schools to get there.

“Even though strikes are disruptive and inconvenient for families, the polling suggests people in Massachusetts recognize that the ability to strike is a primary point of leverage that teachers have,” said Richard Kahlenberg, director of the American Identity Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, a Washington, DC-based think tank.

The push to change state law to legalize teachers’ strikes, which is being led by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, is taking place amid a surge of favorable public opinion toward organized labor. Since the 1930s, Gallup has polled Americans on the broad question of whether they approve or disapprove of unions. The approval rating hit 71% in Gallup’s 2022 poll and was 67% in 2023, levels not seen since the mid-1960s.

Layered over that rise in sympathy for unions, said Michael Hartney, an associate professor of political science at Boston College, is the positive view many people hold of educators. “I think teachers are generally one of the professional groups that have a lot of latent trust among the public, maybe up there with physicians,” said Hartney, author of the 2022 book How Policies Make Interest Groups: Governments, Unions, and American Education.

The poll, conducted among 1,002 Massachusetts residents from March 22 to March 29, showed a strong partisan divide on the issue, with 60% of Democrats supporting legalizing teachers’ strikes and 26% opposed, compared with 42% of Republicans who favor legalizing strikes and 44% who oppose such a change. There was also stronger support for changing the law among Black respondents (63%) and Latino residents (62%) than among Whites (48%) or Asians (41%).

The widest demographic difference was by age, with 64% of those aged 18-29 in favor of making strikes legal compared with only 39% of those 60 and older, a 25-point swing. Among those 30 to 44, 55% support legalizing strikes and among those 45 to 59, 46% do so.

Part of the explanation for the strong support for legalizing strikes among younger people is that, as a group, they skew more Democratic. But young people have also been hit hard by rising economic inequality, the high cost of housing, and have been part of a new union push, still in its infancy, in sectors ranging from Amazon warehouse workers to Starbucks baristas.

While they have a much bigger presence in the public sector, unions represent only 10% of US workers today, half the rate of 40 years ago. Because of that steady decline, young people are “much less likely to have an uncle, an aunt, a parent – someone they know – who is in a union,” said Kahlenberg. “Union leaders feared that would translate into less sympathy for unions, but the economic conditions on the ground have shifted such that young people are rediscovering the importance of unions,” said Kahlenberg, author of a 2007 biography of Albert Shanker, a major figure in the US teachers’ union movement, who led the New York City teachers’ union and the national American Federal of Teachers from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Kahlenberg said teachers’ unions have also effectively sought to link their grievances when they strike with issues parents care about, such as smaller class sizes or more guidance counselors. “Obviously, in the short term, it’s not great for kids who are out of schools, but the argument teachers will advance is, the working conditions of teachers are the learning conditions of children,” he said.

How questions about teachers’ strikes are framed can have a big impact on poll results.

Just over a year ago, in March 2023, MassINC Polling Group asked about teachers’ strikes in a statewide survey commissioned by Democrats for Education Reform. Using wording similar to the new CommonWealth Beacon/GBH News poll, it explained that some teachers unions have gone on strike recently despite it being illegal under state law. Asked whether they favor legislation that would make it legal for teachers to strike, 45% of respondents said yes, while 40% said strikes should remain illegal.

A poll commissioned at the same time by Northwind Strategies, a Boston-based political consulting firm that generally works with left-leaning candidates and causes, found much stronger support for legalizing strikes when Massachusetts residents were asked whether they favor allowing teachers to strike “to fight for higher wages and improved working conditions.” When the question was posed with that language, 67% favored legalizing strikes and just 29% of respondents were opposed.

The Democrats for Education Reform poll revealed considerable confusion about basic facts concerning the teacher strike issue. Fully one-third of respondents thought it was already legal for teachers to strike compared with 45% who correctly said it was illegal.

While their unions are pushing legislation that would make it legal for teachers to strike, the prospects for the bill seem dim. The Democratic troika that sets the agenda on Beacon Hill – Gov. Maura Healey, House Speaker Ron Mariano, and Senate President Karent Spilka – all oppose changing the law.

“I think there’s a pretty clear rationale for not allowing public sector unions to strike, because they play a key role in the provision of public services and interruption of those can be pretty disruptive,” said Marty West, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Paul Reville, a former state education secretary, said despite the fines handed out to striking teacher’s unions, the incentives not to engage in walkouts don’t appear to be strong enough to prevent them, and he thinks there will be more strikes in the future, even without a move to legalize them.

“Teachers have legitimate grievances and legitimate demands to be paid reasonably,” said Reville, a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education. He said a new structure should be developed that “creates disincentives for school committees to drag the process out” in negotiating contracts and “at the same time, puts pressure on unions to bargain in good faith and not consider striking as an option.” Reville said such a system could involve a judge assigning an arbitrator to decide the terms of a new contract if no agreement is reached after a specified period of time.

“It’s in the public interest to avoid these kinds of strikes,” he said. “So if we create a policy that, in effect, mandates that they come to the table to settle or, if they can’t, turns over that power to an arbitrator, that would be best.”

This article first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Rhode Island

Man allegedly kills man in R.I. before causing car crash that killed 2 in Mass.

Published

8 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Man allegedly kills man in R.I. before causing car crash that killed 2 in Mass.

Local News

“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Col. Michael J. Winquist said.

A Seekonk man is accused of murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island before causing a car crash in Swansea that killed two people last week, police said.

Demitri Sousa, 28, is charged with murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, the Cranston Police Department said.

The shooting occurred Thursday night in Cranston, police said in a press release.

That night, Sousa allegedly arrived at the Cranston home of Javon Lawson, 35. Sousa began banging on the side door of the home, police said.

When Lawson approached the door, he was hit by gunfire from outside, police said.

First responders transported Lawson to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cranston police said.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, the motive is believed to be a dispute between the suspect and the victim over a mutual female acquaintance. Detectives are continuing this investigation to gain more insight, as well as to collect and analyze evidence,” Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Cranston police, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Neighbors gave police video footage that “showed a male subject wearing dark clothing and a mask walking toward the residence moments before the shooting and fleeing immediately afterward,” Winquist said.

The suspect was also seen running to a white Infiniti sedan which then drove off, the Cranston police chief said.

Shortly after the shooting, a license plate reader captured the vehicle driving southbound on Route 10, and then later in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts. The sedan’s license plate was registered in Sousa’s name, Winquist said.

At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said.

Just moments later, Sousa allegedly “crashed into the side of another vehicle, a blue 2022 Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley and Fire Chief Eric Hajder said in a joint press release.

Both vehicles had “catastrophic damage,” and the struck car was engulfed in flames, the Swansea officials said.

The driver and passenger of the hit car — a man and a woman — were declared dead at the scene, they said.

“Swansea Police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle. However, Swansea Police were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash,” the Swansea chiefs wrote. Swansea official have not announced charges related to the fatal crash.

Sousa had been driving the Infiniti and appeared to be suffering from serious injuries, Winquist said. Inside the car, police found a pistol and “additional .22 caliber ammunition was recovered” from Sousa at Rhode Island Hospital, Winquist said.

Police arrested Sousa and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital. Sousa is expected to survive, Winquist said. Sousa will be held in Cranston police custody until he is conscious and medically cleared, Winquist said.

“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Winquist said.

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island men’s basketball extends slide with loss to St. Joseph’s

Published

20 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Rhode Island men’s basketball extends slide with loss to St. Joseph’s

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Whatever hopes the University of Rhode Island harbored for a men’s basketball Senior Day upset of Saint Joseph’s disappeared on a rare made 3-pointer.

Jaiden Glover-Toscano connected on just one of his eight attempts from deep, and it turned out to be a backbreaker. The Hawks mustered just enough offense to hold off the Rams at the Ryan Center in an Atlantic 10 rock fight that went to the visitors.

Glover-Toscano hit from the left wing with 3:37 left, restoring a two-possession lead. Saint Joseph’s did just enough from there to finish a 61-55 victory on Feb. 28 and extend URI’s late-season slide.

“We needed to get that stop,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “It was in the balance. Those last three minutes, whoever was going to make the play or get the stop was going to win.

“They made a big shot right there.”

The Rams cut a 13-point deficit all the way to 56-55 when Tyler Cochran knocked down both ends of a 1-and-1 at the line with 3:54 left. The Hawks overloaded the right side on the ensuing possession, and Derek Simpson got a step on his man toward the paint. He fired a crosscourt pass to Glover-Toscano that caught URI’s defense rotating, and the air came out of the announced 6,391 fans in the building when the net rippled in front of the visiting bench.

“We weren’t able to convert,” Miller said. “That’s kind of the name of the game. You’ve got to have some plays go your way.”

Myles Corey missed a 3-pointer at the other end, and Simpson played facilitator again to give Saint Joseph’s more of a cushion. He found Justice Ajogbor rolling to the rim for a slam with 2:36 left and it was a six-point game. Neither team scored again on an afternoon where they both shot under 40% from the field and went a combined 10-for-61 from deep.

“The bottom line for our team today – and let’s just keep it simple – is we didn’t make a shot,” Miller said. “We really struggled to shoot the ball.”

The Hawks built their largest lead with 13:53 to play, thanks to what was a major sore spot on the afternoon for the Rams. URI couldn’t inbound the ball after an Ajogbor free throw, and Jonah Hinton was called for an offensive foul. Simpson drove for a two-hand slam on the ensuing possession, part of a 13-0 shutout for the visitors on points off turnovers.

“We have no room for error,” Miller said. “That plays a big role.”

The Rams (15-14, 6-10 Atlantic 10) enjoyed their best stretch of the day after falling into that 44-31 hole. Alex Crawford offered some life with a couple of 3-pointers, and Jahmere Tripp buried another from the left corner to make it a 54-51 game with 5:10 left. Crawford’s hard drive down the right kept it a three-point game, and Cochran’s successful trip to the line put URI in position to steal it late.

“I feel like we had open shots,” Crawford said. “We had a lot of good looks – shots we usually make.”

Saint Joseph’s (19-10, 11-5) won its fourth straight and continued an impressive rally from an 0-2 start in league play. The Hawks are on course for a double bye in the upcoming conference tournament, while the Rams look increasingly likely to play on the opening day in Pittsburgh. A home date with Duquesne and a road trip to Fordham wrap the regular season this week, and URI hopes guard RJ Johnson (concussion protocol) will be able to return at some point.

“It did hurt a little bit,” Crawford said. “You face adversity, you’ve got to find a way to make up for missed players.”

SAINT JOSEPH’S (61): Dasear Haskins 5-11 4-5 14, Justice Ajogbor 4-5 1-3 9, Derek Simpson 4-10 4-4 13, Jaiden Glover-Toscano 3-14 0-1 7, Austin Williford 2-9 0-0 5, Khaafiq Myers 4-7 0-0 9, Jaden Smith 1-2 1-3 3, Anthony Finkley 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 23-60 11-18 61.

RHODE ISLAND (55): Tyler Cochran 2-13 8-8 13, Keeyan Itejere 4-5 2-2 10, Jahmere Tripp 4-12 2-3 11, Jonah Hinton 2-11 0-0 5, Myles Corey 1-8 1-4 4, Alex Crawford 4-6 2-4 12, Jalen Harper 0-6 0-0 0, Drissa Traore 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-62 15-21 55.

Halftime – SJ, 30-27. 3-point FG – SJ 4-28 (Haskins 0-3, Simpson 1-5, Glover-Toscano 1-8, Williford 1-8, Myers 1-2, Finkley 0-2), RI 6-33 (Cochran 1-9, Tripp 1-4, Hinton 1-7, Corey 1-4, Crawford 2-3, Harper 0-5, Traore 0-1). Rebounds – SJ 45 (Myers 8), RI 46 (Cochran 15). Assists – SJ 14 (Simpson 5), RI 12 (Corey 4). Turnovers – SJ 13 (Simpson 3, Myers 3), RI 13 (Corey 5). Blocked shots – SJ 7 (Ajogbor 3), RI 4 (Itejere 2, Tripp 2). Steals – SJ 8 (Simpson 3), RI 4 (Tripp 2). Attendance – 6,391.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island women’s basketball wins A-10 regular-season championship

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Rhode Island women’s basketball wins A-10 regular-season championship

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – What was a peerless achievement in University of Rhode Island women’s basketball history now has some company just four short years later.

The Rams are Atlantic 10 regular-season champions again after a special Saturday afternoon in Kingston, a coronation more than a contest against visiting George Washington.

The Revolutionaries never had a chance after the hosts got off to a sharp start at the Ryan Center. URI left no doubt in front of its best crowd of the season, and a significant portion of that gathering stuck around long after the final whistle to see the nets cut down again.

It was all Rams in this 72-48 cruise, a result that matched what was a first in 2022-23 and handed URI a No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. George Mason dropped to the No. 2 spot despite posting the same 16-2 league record as the Rams, and that came thanks to a comprehensive 79-63 defeat in a Valentine’s Day matchup.

“There’s nothing more satisfying as a coach than to have the confetti fall and to cut down nets with this group of young women,” URI coach Tammi Reiss said. “I’ve never been prouder.”

URI scored on each of its first five offensive possessions and authored a masterpiece through the opening three quarters. It was only in the fourth when Reiss emptied her bench that George Washington showed any semblance of being able to keep pace. Palmire Mbu led three in double figures with 23 points, and Sophia Vital played yet another complete all-around game to help the Rams run roughshod.

“We were just extra motivated today,” Mbu said. “We wanted to do great for our crowd.

“Just trying my best. Trying to be aggressive and to give solutions on offense and defense. It felt good.”

URI owned a 21-point lead entering the final 10 minutes, thanks to 18 assists, just two turnovers and 63.4% shooting from the field. The Rams buried the offensive struggles they experienced in road losses to La Salle and Richmond with what had been a typical display of crisp execution. URI closed 26-for-35 from 2-point range, collected 48 points in the paint and racked up another 17 off Revolutionaries turnovers.

“I do believe the last four years we had talented teams – we had talented players,” URI guard Ines Debroise said. “But I think it’s also how we can put all the pieces of the puzzle together. This year that’s what we were going to do from day one.”

Mbu’s bucket off a Vanessa Harris steal gave the Rams a 25-10 lead and forced a George Washington timeout with 6:38 left in the second quarter. It seemed just a matter of time before this one was out of reach, and Brooklyn Gray followed a Debroise 3-pointer with a pair of layups to make it a 32-12 cushion. URI’s lead never dipped under 12 points again, and Mbu’s hook in the lane capped an 8-0 run that took it back to 58-38 with 1:00 left in the third.

Video of URI coach Tammi Reiss speaking postgame on Feb. 28

URI women’s basketball beats George Washington to win the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship

“They were sharing the ball in a championship game,” Reiss said. “It wasn’t 1-on-1. That’s what makes this team special.”

The Rams (25-4, 16-2 Atlantic 10) set a new program best for conference wins in a season and are now one shy from a new overall mark – they collected 26 while making a run to the WNIT Round of 16 in 2022-23. URI shared the league crown with rival Massachusetts that year before suffering a semifinal upset against Saint Louis and missing out on a third meeting with the Minutewomen.

“Their job is to show up and be us,” Reiss said. “Execute our game plan with discipline and ferocity for 40 minutes. Our job is to manage them – their health, their minutes.”

The Revolutionaries (15-16, 7-11 Atlantic 10) dropped to the No. 10 seed in the upcoming conference tournament and will play No. 7 Saint Louis in the second round on Thursday, March 5. The Rams will open Friday’s quarterfinals in an 11 a.m. tip on the USA Network against either No. 8 Loyola Chicago or No. 9 St. Bonaventure. No. 4 Davidson and No. 5 Saint Joseph’s are in URI’s half of the bracket, while the second-seeded Patriots and third-seeded Spiders could be on a semifinal collision course in the other half at Henrico Sports & Events Center.

“It’s going to be tough for everybody – probably three games in three days,” Mbu said. “We’ve got to push to the end and play like we’ve been doing.”

GEORGE WASHINGTON (48): Sara Lewis 2-10 2-2 6, Gabby Reynolds 7-13 2-2 17, Tanah Becker 1-2 1-1 3, Mia James 2-6 0-0 4, Kamari Sims 2-4 0-0 4, Emma Theodorsson 0-6 2-2 2, Jaeda Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Filipa Calisto 2-2 0-0 4, Colleen Phiri 0-0 0-0 0, Caia Loving 2-2 0-0 4, Payton Dulin 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 20-48 7-9 48.

RHODE ISLAND (72): Palmire Mbu 9-14 3-4 23, Albina Syla 5-6 0-0 10, Brooklyn Gray 5-6 0-0 11, Sophia Vital 3-6 1-2 7, Ines Debroise 4-7 0-0 9, Vanessa Harris 3-7 0-0 7, Aimee Michel 2-2 0-0 4, Valentina Ojeda 0-2 0-0 0, Ta’Viyanna Habib 0-0 0-0 0, Eva Agba 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 31-51 5-8 72.

Halftime – RI, 40-25. 3-point FG – GW 1-8 (Reynolds 1-2, Becker 0-1, James 0-2, Sims 0-1, Theodorsson 0-2), RI 5-16 (Mbu 2-4, Gray 1-1, Vital 0-2, Debroise 1-4, Harris 1-2, Ojeda 0-2, Agba 0-1). Rebounds – GW 23 (Sims 5), RI 26 (Vital 6). Assists – GW 7 (Sims 2, Loving 2), RI 21 (Vital 7). Turnovers – GW 13 (Sims 4), RI 7 (Gray 2, Harris 2). Blocked shots – GW 2 (James 1, Loving 1), RI 3 (Mbu 2). Steals – GW 3 (Lewis 1, James 1, Sims 1), RI 6 (Vital 3). Attendance – 6,580.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

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