01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, November 10, 2004

When David Cicilline was running for mayor of Providence, two years ago, many wondered whether he had the toughness to get municipal unions to accept contracts that the city taxpayers could afford. The new contract with Local 1033 of the Laborers' International Union suggests that the mayor has the stuff.

The three-year contract gives some 900 city workers pay raises of 7.5 percent over three years. More important, the workers -- who on Oct. 6 strongly endorsed the contract -- agreed to pay for 10 percent of their health coverage, as did the pensioners. Perhaps above all, the contract increases the flexibility of departmental managers by eliminating a no-layoff clause and by reducing the red tape involved in reassigning workers.

Over the years, the taxpayers in Providence (and other Rhode Island communities) have suffered not only from the skyrocketing cost of government but also from the inability of the city to provide the services that the taxes are supposed to pay for.

We congratulate Mayor Cicilline for going toe-to-toe on this with the labor negotiators and emerging with a fair deal for all -- in short, for not giving away the store. We also congratulate the union's negotiators, for recognizing the reality that cozy relationships between union leaders and politicians do union members no favors, and are a thing of the past. Public unions cannot indefinitely drain the economic lifeblood of their communities and not be affected.

The mayor pointed out that some city workers could lose their homes if city taxes went up. Donald Iannazzi, Local 1033's business manager, agreed. "We live in Providence, too," he said. "We are taxpayers in Providence."

Even more than with the recent teachers' pact -- the first in which city workers agreed to chip in on health costs -- the laborers' contract is a winner for all sides.

But meanwhile, parallel talks with the police and firefighter unions have stalled. Arbitrators have been summoned. In the past, they have tended to play down the taxpayers' part of the equation in any fair settlement. Perhaps, though, even if arbitration is required, the new reality will promote fairness.

"This groundbreaking agreement makes our workforce more professional, more accountable and more affordable," says Mr. Cicilline. "It will be a major factor in catapulting city government into the 21st Century."

We agree. Providence now seems poised to grapple with fiscal and managerial dysfunctions that have kept this wonderful city from making progress.