Major Troubles at the Park District
In July 1998, the Board of Directors of the Regional Parks Association became aware that there were serious personnel problems at the East Bay Regional Park District. The issue came to light at the District's Board meeting on July 7th. About a hundred employees were in attendance and a number of them had the courage to speak up during the "public comments" portion of the meeting. They stated their strong objection to the proposed demotion of Peter Volin, the District's Benefits Counselor. I attended the second meeting on July 21 simply to observe the proceedings. On August 4th, I attended the third meeting on this subject and spoke on behalf of our group. Prior to the August 4th meeting, four environmentalists (Harlan Kessel, Barbara Vincent, Norman La Force and myself) met with Pat O'Brien and Ted Radosevich to discuss issues including the District's by then widely publicized personnel problems. We made three stipulations: 1. That Peter Volin be re-instated as Benefits Manager. 2. That the Board form a committee of at least two Board members and management person (if it wished) to look into Bill McLeod's treatment of District employees. 3. That compulsory arbitration be made available to all employees, not just to management personnel. O'Brien and Radosevich said that compulsory arbitration was already available to all District employees, so we withdrew that request. We also set a deadline for a response from the District, otherwise we would place an argument on the ballot opposing Measure W. Before the deadline was reached, however, we received a three-page letter from O'Brien in effect saying "no" to our requests. On August 4th, speaking for RPA at the District's Board meeting, I presented RPA's two remaining requests. On the following day, Wednesday, August 5th, RPA held an emergency Board meeting. The meeting was attended by two guests: Arthur Feinstein of the Audubon Society and Alan La Pointe of the Friends of Wildcat Canyon. After discussing the situation for an hour and a half, the RPA Board voted unanimously to oppose Measure W, the proposed parcel tax. As the Benefits Manager for the District, Peter Volin has counseled employees as to their benefit options under the District's retirement programs. He also provided information and counseling regarding emergency leave arrangements and other career decisions. Volin is a highly respected employee who is certified for his position. He has the welfare of the staff at heart. He was also helping mid-management employees organize themselves into a union in order to better cope with adverse working conditions. Volin was accused of interfering with negotiations between the District and AFSCME Local 2428. The contract was ratified, so just how he interfered is a matter of some conjecture. According to the accusation, however, he reportedly told union members to read the proposed contract carefully because parts of it might not be in their best interest. Following this report this reported interference, fourteen employees of the District who are in the union were interrogated by the personnel Director, Bill McCleod, in an attempt to substantiate the accusation that Volin had acted improperly. The District was using a process called "interest-based bargaining" that calls for the negotiating teams to start with areas of agreement and move on to areas of difference. No one in either group, management or union, is supposed to reveal what is said in the bargaining sessions. Of course, this applies only to the bargaining unit. There was no memo telling other District employees that issues under negotiation could not be discussed while negotiations were in progress. Volin was not a member of the bargaining unit and was not aware that discussion of the issues was forbidden. Volin was placed on administrative leave while the fourteen District employees were interrogated. They, in turn, were told to keep their interviews secret from everyone except their union representatives. The conditions of Volin's administrative leave required him to call the District at 9am each work day, to remain at his residence until 10:30am each work day, and to be available by phone until 10:30am in case the District management team might want to reach him. McLeod's memorandum to Volin included the statement: "Failure to follow this directive will result in discipline, up to and including termination." The District personnel manual clearly states that administrative leave for periods beyond thirty days requires Board approval. Volin's required leave was considerably longer than thirty days, but that matter was never presented ot the Board. In fact, the District is violating its own rules. At four consecutive Board meetings, the room was packed with protesting employees, plus a number of RPA Board members, and other environmentalists. The Volin matter was repeatedly raised under the "public comments" portion of the agenda, but the Board did not respond except to say that official procedures were in place and would be followed. RPA learned recently that Bill McLeod has resigned his position with District to take a position with San Joaquin County. District boardmembers insist that this was not a forced resignation.
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