I write in appreciation of the soon to be retired president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, George Nee. In a recent article in this newspaper, longtime reporter Katherine Gregg chronicled the long and storied career of a tireless labor leader and cited his lifelong mission to advance the interests of organized labor and people in general. No article could report the extent to which this man benefited Rhode Island employers and business in general and his dedicated service in helping design and steer our state’s workers’ compensation system to its present state of stability.
When Rhode Island was in the midst of a workers’ compensation crisis in the early 1990s, George advocated for organized labor at the General Assembly with regard to many of the proposed changes to the state’s chaotic and costly workers’ compensation system. Such times called for reform and the legislature and Governor Bruce Sundlun, with Sheldon Whitehouse (who at that time was director of the Department of Business Regulation) in the lead, boldly implemented the change necessary to stabilize the Rhode Island system.