PROVIDENCE – Members of the Providence City Council are calling upon Mayor Jorge O. Elorza to end furloughs for public works employees amid a “rampant decline” in services.
In a petition released on Wednesday, council members specifically cited graffiti, illegal dumping and rat infestations as “serious threats” to residents’ quality of life that have been worsened by furloughs for the Department of Public Works employees who maintain the city’s infrastructure.
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“While we understand that the city must find cost-saving measures to preserve the short-term financial stability of the city, we do not think those savings should come at the price of allowing our city to decline into a hazardous eyesore,” the petition said.
Providence in June furloughed 500 city workers, including 100 in its public works department, through the R.I Department of Labor and Training’s Workshare program, according to Patricia Socarras, Elorza’s press secretary. Furloughed workers have had hours reduced by 20 to 40%, with unemployment benefits to offset lost wages.
In response to the council’s calls to end furloughs, Socarras said in an email that the furloughs are intended to “mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19” and avoid layoffs.
“We look forward to continuing our work with the City Council to ensure the Workshare program has minimal impact on the delivery of city services,” Socarras wrote in an email.
According to the contract between the city and the labor union representing its workers, scheduled furloughs are set to end Sept. 5.
The petition was signed by 14 of 15 City Council members; Council member Rachel Miller did not sign it.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
