01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 28, 2005

The Rhode Island General Assembly, including South County's own state Sen. Susan Sosnowski and Rep. Patrick Shanley, has voted yes on legislation to let 1,300 independent child-care providers -- and possibly thousands more -- unionize and negotiate with the state, as if they were state employees.

Dateline: Jan. 1, 2007. The day-care act has been in place for over a year and its impact is being felt, thanks in part to Senator Sosnowski and Representative Shanley. A young mother sits writing a letter to her mother, pleading for help to take care of her young children:

"Dear Mom,

"I plead again for you to come out to watch the kids for me. The day-care workers have been on strike for three months and there is no end in sight. They know that they will win eventually, since every parent who relies on them is over a barrel. The governor cannot accede to their demands for pensions and health benefits, because it will drive the taxpayers to the poorhouse and every business out of the state. And the courts said they can't help, because there is no clause that says the day-care workers have to show up for work, as the teachers do.

"There's no place to go, since every day-care provider is now a member of the union. I tried to get the lady down the street to take the kids, but she's afraid the union will start picketing her house, since she's already taking in one child. There's no place to turn. This thing has become a mess. I'm afraid that it will go on for a long time, since the prize is so big for the union. I'm going to have to quit my job if I cannot get a solution soon.

"Mom, I'm desperate. You're my last hope. I'll lose my job if you do not come soon."

As Edward Achorn wrote in his June 14 Commentary column ("A bright, clear line in R.I."), "The political strategy of the union bosses is clear: to increase the flow of money into their coffers with a fresh stream from new dues-paying members; and to swell the political armies that support candidates and vote for their narrow interests against the common interest. This game plan will apparently be pursued until Rhode Island goes bust, since the bosses do not seem to care that there is a limit to how much can be extracted from taxpayers without doing the public serious harm."

DAVID COTE

South Kingstown