Worcester Research Bureau fights ‘attack’ from city, unions
Saturday, June 16, 2012
“Absolutely, there’s no question,” Schaefer told GoLocalWorcester when asked if she believed she was being attacked for her opposition to an ordinance courts in two other cities already ruled unconstitutional and that City Manager Michael O’Brien has refused to enforce.
It is the Unions
Schaefer was fuming at the recent council meeting, during which District 3 Councilor George Russell asked the city’s law department to provide information detailing what the Research Bureau is and what functions it serves. While one of his colleagues, Konstantina Lukes, saw it as an attack against Schaefer because she is a woman, Schaefer said she believed it was a tactic geared to cut her off and prevent her and local contractors who were also at the meeting, from weighing in on the ordinance. She is certain she knows who is behind it.
“This is all coming from the unions,” Schaefer said. “It’s nothing new. Several years ago I was backed into a corner from someone from the electrical union pushing his finger into my shoulder.”
Robert Fields, president of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 96, referred questions to Leo Miller Jr., business manager and financial secretary. Miller was not immediately available.
An Agenda
Russell was clearly motivated by an agenda in his questions about the Research Bureau, according to Schaefer, who said, “I don’t know for what purpose, but if (Russell) is asking who we are and for the law department to investigate clearly he has some motive. Why go to a public body and ask who the Research Bureau is? Isn’t that over the top? Do they do that to everybody? If George Russell hadn’t heard about the Research Bureau he has his head buried in the sand. It clearly was an attempt to try to intimidate us from ever showing up again. When you don’t want someone to be involved … you try to intimidate them, attack them.”
Schaefer said she found the timing of the councilor’s questions peculiar, saying: “George Russell knows nothing about the Research Bureau and all of a sudden he’s got all these questions? Maybe these questions are coming from unions. This is not an uncommon process. Rather than dealing with the facts we presented, they’ve got to attack our organization and me personally.”
Russell could not be reached for comment on this story, but he recently told GoLocalWorcester his questioning of the Research Bureau was to clarify any confusion over the group’s mission.
“I really don’t know if the Research Bureau is a PAC (Political Action Committee), a lobbying group, I don’t know,” said Russell. “My questions are on that level. That was the only reason I asked our law department to provide information on that.”
Legal Opinion
Specifically, City Solicitor David Moore is trying to determine what type of corporation the bureau is and whether they are engaged in lobbying.
“I guess I’ll have to look up what exactly lobbying” Moore said. “My guess is it’s different than just showing up at a meeting and lobbying for a particular issue.”
He was unsure what penalties could be imposed were the bureau found to be in violation of its intended mission. Moore is expected to provide councilors with an opinion of the city’s REO in time for its next meeting, Tuesday. He said it could be ready as soon as Monday.
Bureau’s Origins
The Research Bureau was founded in 1985. In the years since, it has produced hundreds of reports and documents, often making recommendations about how to make local government more effective and efficient. Schaefer has publicly advocated for several concerns when needed. Earlier this month, hers was a loud voice during the tax classification hearing at which councilors set the new tax rate. She strongly advocated a single-tax rate, one she claimed could be attained in three years. Her suggestion was met with derision by some councilors, who suggested residential taxpayers would be destroyed if a single rate was fast-tracked. Of course, her most recent public stance was against the REO.
“It was not the first time the city council has treated me with disrespect,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer was defensive at the suggestion that the bureau is anything other than an independently -functioning board with no agenda.
“This is a nonprofit agency,” said Schaefer. “I personally have nothing to gain.”
The Research Bureau is privately funded by a host of corporate sponsors. It operates on an annual budget of approximately $400,000. Its donors and sponsors have included dozens of businesses and individuals, including Quinsigamond Community College President Gail Carberry, local lawyer Robert Seder and many others. Among the corporate sponsors are the Worcester-based law firm Bowditch & Dewey; Commerce Bank, Massport, UNUM and Hanover Insurance.
There is a perception among some, according to Schaefer, that the bureau is anti-union. That, she claimed, has at least partly fueled the sudden attention on the organization.
“We’re an open book,” said Schaefer. “We’re not anti-union. We’re pro the residents of Worcester. I have no stake in any of this. We’ve invited pro-union people to serve on our board. They have turned us down. At one time, we did have union members on our board.”
The Real Concern
What truly concerns Schaefer is the REO and its impact on local contractors. She is upset over what she sees as the lack of local workers on some of the major downtown projects. She cited three major construction companies, all of them “reputable,” but not from around Worcester. Daniel O’Connell’s Sons Inc., which worked on Gateway Park, has locations in Holyoke, Franklin and New Haven, Conn. Consigli Construction, which is working on the new UNUM building project in City Square, is from Milford. Gilbane Inc., overseeing construction of the new St. Vincent’s facility also in City Square, is from Rhode Island, with offices in both Providence and West Warwick.
“Not one is located in Worcester,” Schaefer argued. “These are very reputable companies, but if they’re so concerned with Worcester, why aren’t there any Worcester people joining them on these jobs?”
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It