Pawtucket Blames Firefighters Union for Lack of Detail Pay at New Stadium

Pawtucket Blames Firefighters Union for Lack of Detail Pay at New Stadium

The City of Pawtucket has blamed the firefighters’ union for not getting paid for detail work at the new Centreville Bank Stadium in the city, claiming the union president rejected an agreement that would have allowed the city to pay the firefighters directly. 

As GoLocal was first to report on Friday, the union said that firefighters have not been paid for details at the stadium - the home to soccer club Rhode Island FC - in March and April this year.

According to the union, the “stadium currently owes a total of $3,200” - and the union claimed the City of Pawtucket has the authority to require private entities to pay for fire details, but has not “enforced this requirement.”

Now, in the back-and-forth, Pawtucket claims it offered to pay the firefighters directly, but the union "refused" the agreement. 


City on Record 

On Friday, City of Pawtucket Police Chief and Public Safety Director Tina Goncalves provided the following statement in response to the union's claims. 

"At the fire union’s own request, and in accordance with the CBA, billing for these details has been handled directly between the union and the stadium, without the City’s involvement. This arrangement differs from the process used for other public safety personnel, where the City administers payroll and invoicing.

Centreville Bank Stadium has requested an invoice from the fire union representative to enable them to submit payment to the individual firefighters. This is the same process that’s been successfully used all of last season to pay fire personnel for stadium details.

The City is actively working with fire union leadership to transition to a more consistent and streamlined approach by aligning fire detail payments with those of other public safety departments, where the City would compensate fire personnel directly for detail work and invoice the stadium. That agreement is not yet finalized. This arrangement was offered to the fire union leadership last year, but the fire union President outright refused.

The City remains committed to ensuring that all public safety personnel are paid promptly and fairly for their work, and we will continue to collaborate with all parties to resolve this matter."



“Same Day Pay” 

In its criticism of the lack of pay from the Centreville Bank Stadium, the firefighters said that they had a long-standing agreement with the now-defunct Pawtucket Red Sox that details would be paid the same day. 

“For 40 years, the Pawtucket Red Sox paid for fire details at McCoy Stadium on the same day of service, in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. Other private vendors in the city continue to follow this contractual practice. The owners of Centreville Bank Stadium have not," said the union.

The City did not respond to why the practice of paying the same day could not continue; the stadium did not respond to a request for comment on the union’s allegations.