They just make stuff up

Wow.   The Projo editors are so scared at being called out for their lack of ethics they even have to make stuff up when they chastise people writing letters to the editor. In today's free online version of the Journal, Michele Gousie of Bristol takes the Journal on for their hap hazard and politically motivated spin on whether State Senator John Tassoni would be an arbitrator.  In response, they let rip with this doozy:

 

Editor's note: We know the difference between the two. The Oct. 21 editorial "Sen. Tassoni's new job?" referred to both labor arbitrators and mediators. While the binding-arbitration legislation has not yet been approved, typically state-approved arbitrators are chosen from among a group of different names than state-approved mediators. As the editorial states, Sen. John Tassoni, a former public-employee union official, has landed on the state's list of qualified mediators. In the U.S. economy, mediators often become arbitrators and the reverse.

 Complete nonsense.  That is not even how arbitrators are chose now.  As I explained on the Projo Exposed blog last week, the process for choosing arbitrators is already statute:

§ 28-9.3-10  Arbitration board – Composition. – (a) Within seven (7) days after arbitration has been requested as provided in § 28-9.3-9, the negotiating or bargaining agent and the school committee shall each select and name one arbitrator and shall immediately notify each other in writing of the name and address of the person so selected. The two (2) arbitrators selected and named shall, within ten (10) days from and after their selection, agree upon and select and name a third arbitrator. If within the ten (10) days the arbitrators are unable to agree upon the selection of a third arbitrator, the third arbitrator shall be selected in accordance with the rules and procedure of the American Arbitration Association.

 

The unnamed Projo editorialist is just making things up.  As I explained in this post, AAA has a very stringent arbitrator process:

A fair question (3.00 / 1)

The arbitration process is coordinated by an neutral private company called The American Arbitration Association.

http://www.adr.org/

here are the qualification to be an arbitrator for AAA

http://www.adr.org/si.asp?id=4223

This is the process for selecting an arbitrator in a typical arbitration.  I am not sure it will be exactly like this in the proposed bill because I haven't seen the bill but it will likely take a form similar to this

The matter is submitted to AAA for arbitration.   AAA sends a list of ten arbitrators, with their CV's, to the parties.  Each side strikes the names that are unacceptable to them, mostly because those people's backgrounds would lend one to think they are biased against their case. Hopefully, there are names left on the list that each side finds acceptable.  If there are, one of those people is assigned the case.  If there are not, another round of names is submitted to the parties.

The key part is that the arbitrator has to be acceptable to both sides.