Home Economy RIPTA’s not the only public agency feeling effects of labor shortage

RIPTA’s not the only public agency feeling effects of labor shortage

By

Claudia Chiappa

-

10/07/2022

Kennedy Plaza in Providence — R.I. PUBLIC TRANSIT AUTHORITY officials say a shortage of drivers is forcing the agency to reduce services temporarily, but other organizations that provide public services are also feeling the effects of a lack of workers. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Like many companies in the private sector, some state agencies and municipalities are struggling to fill positions amid a severe labor shortage. The R.I. Public Transit Authority, a quasi-public entity, announced on Sept. 28 that it was cutting back its bus services temporarily because it doesn’t have enough drivers. RIPTA CEO Scott Avedisian said the

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Like many companies in the private sector, some state agencies and municipalities are struggling to fill positions amid a severe labor shortage. The R.I. Public Transit Authority, a quasi-public entity, announced on Sept. 28 that it was cutting back its bus services temporarily because it doesn’t have enough drivers. RIPTA CEO Scott Avedisian said the agency is 30 drivers short, which will require reducing the frequency of buses on 19 routes, beginning Oct. 22. But RIPTA is not the only agency that is navigating an unusual job market while still trying to provide crucial public services. Wayne Salisbury, assistant director at the R.I. Department of Corrections, says the department has seen interest in job openings sink significantly. Help wanted ads that would have typically drawn a thousand applicants are now attracting a few hundred, he says. While operations at the state prisons haven’t been affected by the recruiting difficulties, Salisbury says resources are strained as hiring slows. “We’re doing more with less,” he said. One area of the public sector where the labor shortage is causing the most grief is education. For instance, more than a month into the new school year, the Providence Public School District is still trying to hire 100 full-time teachers. District spokesperson Nicholas Domings says 94% of the city’s 1,700 classroom positions have been filled, with the remaining spots covered by substitute educators and assistant teachers. “We’re able to function; we’re able to hold class each day,” Domings said. “But there’s more work to do.” Similarly, a nationwide health care worker shortage is not sparing facilities operated by the state. At the R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, staffing shortages have been widespread, according to public information officer Randal Edgar. While a lack of workers in the health care sector was a concern before the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis amplified the problems, he says. “At Eleanor Slater Hospital, this was exacerbated by efforts under the previous administration to downsize or close the hospital,” Edgar said. “In addition, the pay at community-based behavioral health providers has been an issue. The state, in response to a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, has been taking steps to raise the pay for workers at … providers [for people with developmental disabilities].” Edgar says Slater Hospital is maintaining safe staffing levels with flexible scheduling, overtime payments and temporary staffing agencies. But the increasing openings are taking a toll on the mental health of the staff, which prompted the hospital to invest in programs to support workers’ mental health. Even seasonal hiring at the R.I. Department of Environmental Management – jobs such as park rangers, groundskeepers and lifeguards, many of which are typically filled by students on break from school – proved rough this year. “We ended up hiring a little more than 100 guards,” said DEM spokesperson Michael Healey. “Fully staffed, we are authorized for 157 lifeguards statewide. This shortage required us to shrink supervised swimming areas, rotate lifeguards based on need and continue recruiting lifeguards throughout the summer.” Some of these hiring problems have carried over at the municipal level, too. Elizabeth Tufts, a spokesperson for Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi, says that along with struggling to find lifeguards over the summer, the city has had trouble finding qualified diesel mechanics and drivers who hold commercial licenses for positions at the Department of Public Works. Even more surprising, Tufts says, the city had difficulty attracting applicants for openings on the city police force, positions that in the past were much sought after. “We were able to recruit enough police candidates to fill openings, but it took a long time,” Tufts said. “And the number of candidates was far less than previous years.” Chris Hunter, a spokesperson for the city of Pawtucket, says the municipality has openings in several departments, including police, fire and public works, but is “struggling to find qualified applicants.” “We're continuing aggressive outreach activities, including online job listings, recruitment drives and direct outreach to residents and diverse community organizations,” Hunter said. This has not been an issue in all municipalities. Andrew Grande, a spokesperson for Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, says the city has not experienced staffing shortages. Similarly, North Providence Mayor Charles A. Lombardi says his town was not particularly affected by labor shortages. “It wasn’t an issue to the point we had to curtail any operations or services,” said Lombardi, who is also president of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns. To counteract the lagging interest in job openings, public agencies have been ramping up recruiting efforts. RIPTA has been hosting frequent job fairs, hiring four to five new drivers each month. RIPTA is also negotiating a possible wage increase with the union that represents drivers. Domings says Providence schools hired about 80 people in one day last week – including some full-time and some part-time teachers – and has sweetened the offers with incentives such as sign-on bonuses and rewards for referring candidates for job openings. “We want to attract people and we also need to work on retention, so we have a lot of initiatives to keep people here,” Domings said.