Schram: 'Villain' pits park volunteers against Teamsters
There's a villain somewhere in this.
A local Pierce County Teamsters union is miffed because volunteers are mowing lawns, cleaning restrooms and doing general maintenance in a couple of area parks.
The volunteers are doing the work because county budget problems would mean the parks would otherwise be shut down and neglected.
Now the union has filed a complaint with the state claiming unfair labor practices, which in turn has ticked off the volunteers and families who use the parks.
The union is worried that volunteers are doing work that its members should be paid for doing.
But the county has no money to pay union members for the work at the parks in question.
Are you with me here?
I get that the union is justifiably concerned about protecting members' jobs.
But I also get that people saw a chance to rescue some neighborhood parks and took it.
So in my opinion, the villain in all this is Pierce County Parks and Recreation.
In between golf trips to California, couldn't one of the bureaucrats have talked with the union before giving neighborhood volunteers a green light?
Couldn't park officials have explained that when the budget is better, the park maintenance work will go back to park employees?
Yeah. They could have.
But damned if they didn't.
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A local Pierce County Teamsters union is miffed because volunteers are mowing lawns, cleaning restrooms and doing general maintenance in a couple of area parks.
The volunteers are doing the work because county budget problems would mean the parks would otherwise be shut down and neglected.
Now the union has filed a complaint with the state claiming unfair labor practices, which in turn has ticked off the volunteers and families who use the parks.
The union is worried that volunteers are doing work that its members should be paid for doing.
But the county has no money to pay union members for the work at the parks in question.
Are you with me here?
I get that the union is justifiably concerned about protecting members' jobs.
But I also get that people saw a chance to rescue some neighborhood parks and took it.
So in my opinion, the villain in all this is Pierce County Parks and Recreation.
In between golf trips to California, couldn't one of the bureaucrats have talked with the union before giving neighborhood volunteers a green light?
Couldn't park officials have explained that when the budget is better, the park maintenance work will go back to park employees?
Yeah. They could have.
But damned if they didn't.
-----
Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. You can also e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com. You can also hook up with Ken on Facebook.