Mulholland gives the boot to volunteers
PAWTUCKET - Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Bill Mulholland has tossed out all volunteers working with the city's Parks Division, claiming he made the move because some unionized workers are currently laid off. But members of the Pawtucket City Council, fearing a "chilling effect" on local volunteerism, are calling Mulholland to account for his actions. They're saying the move is completely "out of line," especially since volunteers have for years been a key part of the Parks and Recreation Department, whether or not workers there are laid off. "It's a long-standing practice and that's not going to change," Councilor Mark Wildenhain told The Valley Breeze. "We have volunteers who serve whether people are laid off or not and there's no way we're going to allow that practice to stop." City Council members voted last Wednesday to summon Mulholland to their next meeting to defend an Oct. 27 memorandum written to Personnel Director Angel Garcia, a blunt letter in which he says all volunteers with the Parks and Recreation Department have been notified "that their services will no longer be available." "I have notified the Valley Community School that their two students working at the Daggett Farm will not be able to continue working," wrote Mulholland. "I will also deny any organization that wishes to volunteer its time for community service. Lastly, I will notify the youth baseball and softball leagues that their annual clean-up day in the spring is no longer allowed." The Parks Division has for years been a place where local youths complete required community service. Mulholland has not returned calls seeking comment on his action. According to the Parks chief's memo, since some of the 300 city members who make up the Local 1012 union are laid off, no one should be allowed to work for free. Local 1012 members work in building and maintenance, Pawtucket City Hall, the Pawtucket Public Library, the Highway Department, Parks and Recreation Department, Sanitation/Sewers, the Water Department, and as police civilians. Garcia did not return a phone call this week inquiring about how many Local 1012 workers are currently laid off. The tough talk from Mulholland did not appear to sit well with council members. "He needs to come explain why that letter was written, why the volunteers are being discouraged from helping," said council member Larry Tetreault. Council President Henry Kinch Jr. told The Breeze that the letter from Mulholland doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, that volunteers aren't obligated to abide by the mandate anyway. "The last time I checked, you don't need permission to volunteer, to have a positive impact on the city," said Kinch. "This is an issue that should be handled in a meeting. It's something that should be ironed out." In his memo, Mulholland thanks Garcia for his "guidance" regarding an ongoing grievance from the Local 1012 complaining about community service work being done while union workers are laid off. Mulholland then cites Article 31.1 of the collective bargaining agreement, which states that "no person outside the bargaining unit shall perform work normally done by employees in the bargaining unit, except in cases of emergency. But Article 31.1 then reads that "nothing in this section shall be construed so as to prohibit any person or organization from volunteering time or services for the betterment of the city. "Notwithstanding the above, no person or volunteers shall be used to perform bargaining unit work while employees who perform said work are on layoff," it continues. "Whenever possible, the union will be notified in advance of volunteers working in the bargaining unit's jurisdiction." Mulholland's move to block volunteers from city parks quickly became the first target of the newly-formed Pawtucket Government Watchdogs. "We the people are blocked by union contract from volunteering in our city," states an online post from the group last week. "We are going to get the names of all elected and union negotiators who allowed this to happen and publish along with every other incompetence we find." The Government Watchdogs were founded two weeks ago by resident Chris Caramela, vice president of the Woodlawn Neighborhood Association.
