Advisory Opinion No. 2001-69

Re: Ms. Ella Whaley

QUESTION PRESENTED

The petitioner, a South Kingstown School Committee member, a municipal elected position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether she may participate in contract negotiations with the South Kingstown NEA teachers union, including the Educational Support Personnel (ESP) contract, given that she is a member of the North Kingstown NEA.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, a South Kingstown School Committee member, a municipal elected position, may participate in contract negotiations with the South Kingstown NEA teachers union, provided that it is not reasonably foreseeable that the terms of the contract would affect her as a member of the North Kingstown NEA. Further, she may negotiate the NEA’s Educational Support Personnel (ESP) contract, provided that neither she nor any member of her family is a member of the South Kingstown NEA/ESP or would be impacted directly by the NEA/ESP contract.

The Code of Ethics provides that the petitioner may not participate in any matter in which she, her family, or a business associate has an interest, financial or otherwise, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of her duties in the public interest. See R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-14-5(a), 36-14-7(a). An official will have an interest in substantial conflict with her official duties if she has a reason to believe or expect that a "direct monetary gain" or a "direct monetary loss" will accrue, by virtue of the public official's activity, to the official, a family member, a business associate, an employer, or any business which the public official represents. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-7(a). Also, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(d), the petitioner is prohibited from using her public position or confidential information received through his position to obtain financial gain, other than that provided by law, for herself or any person within her family, a business associate, or any business by which she is employed or represents.

The Ethics Commission previously has advised public officials who are union members that they may participate in negotiations in their public capacity with that union, provided that it is a different local. See A.O. 96-92 (finding that a member of Rhode Island Laborers' Local 1215 who served as the Chairperson of the Westerly Housing Authority Board of Commissions could participate in the consideration of a contract with Rhode Island Laborers' Local 1217 notwithstanding the fact that he was a member of a different local of the same union since he was not a business associate of Local 1217); A.O. 96-60 (advising a member of the Narragansett Personnel Board of Appeal that she could participate in grievances of employees represented by Local 1033 even though she was a member of that union since she was not a union official and that any benefits she received would not be affected by any decision of the Narragansett Personnel Board); A.O. 99-36 (concluding that a North Providence School Committee member may participate in negotiations since he is a member of the NEA in another district).

The Commission concludes that the petitioner may participate in the contract negotiations with the NEA as a South Kingstown School Committee member, provided that it is not reasonably foreseeable that the terms of that contract would affect her as a member of the North Kingstown NEA. The Code of Ethics does not prohibit her participation in negotiations with a different local of the same umbrella organization given that she is merely a member of the NEA and not a business associate of that organization. The Commission previously has concluded that public officials may negotiate matters relating to different locals of an umbrella labor organization since the business associate relationship does not exist as to the other locals. Further, the petitioner may vote on matters relating to South Kingstown NEA/ESP, which includes secretaries, clerks and teacher assistants, provided that neither she nor any member of her family would be impacted directly by the NEA/ESP contract. In the event that any matter appears before the petitioner as a member of the South Kingstown School Committee that would affect her as a member of the NEA and/or her family members, she should exercise the notice and recusal sections of R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-6.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(d)

36-14-5(f)

Related Advisory Opinions:

2001-10

2000-77

99-55

99-54

99-36

99-4

98-172

98-166

98-156

98-162

98-130

98-44

98-32

97-91

97-65

96-92

96-60

95-70

95-75

95-23

94-27

92-53

Keywords:

Negotiations

Unions/Bargaining units