PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- As the new legislative session gets under way, there have been too many changes on legislative committees to list here. But one in particular caught our attention.

Rep. Douglas Gablinske, the second-term Bristol Democrat largely known for being a critic of labor unions, has been assigned to the House Labor Committee.

It's no secret that organized labor and Gablinske don't exactly see eye to eye.

Union political action committees funneled thousands of dollars to Gablinske's opponent, Matthew Pion, a 24-year-old independent, in the final days of the recent campaign.

"I fully expected that the unions would come after me," Gablinske said. "What caught me by surprise was this fellow was an independent and he was 24 ... They didn't show their hand until the 11th hour."

Pion received no campaign contributions at all between July 1 and Oct. 6, according to his filing with the state Board of Elections.

But he received $5,350 between Oct. 28 and Oct. 30 -- the week before the election -- from political action committees representing organized labor, according to another campaign report.

Gablinske, who told us he had expected a relatively easy victory against an opponent who had raised almost no money in the months leading up to the election, won with 57 percent of the vote.

House Labor is scheduled to meet next Tuesday to consider several bills affecting issues such as collective bargaining rights and pensions.

What is Gablinske's goal on his new assignment?

"I'll try to introduce bills that push back labor's stronghold on this state," he said.