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Hello again bendover:

Your pessimism is quite warranted, given the past two years and the even longer history of labor disputes in the school department. While I don't think the contract issue will directly cause a fiscal meltdown in Warwick, the ongoing drama certainly does not inspire confidence in the way the city is managed, posing a problem for anyone trying to lure new residents and students to the city.

The aspect that is most troubling to me is that the WTU has been provided with several avenues leading to a contract: actual contract negotiations, mediation, and arbitration, and has at least allowed [if not forced] two of those to close already. What the WTU seems to be doing is stalling long enough to get the arbitrators' ruling and then decide which of the offers they want to accept. After their losses in court and at the legislature, it's really difficult to understand why they would expect a victory from the arbitrators.

And as I mentioned in another comment, out of nearly 900 teachers, 400 to 500 participated in the no-confidence vote, according to WTU president Netcoh. That's not "unanimous," as she claimed, nor is it a good prospect for a union claiming to be the united face of Warwick teachers.