New director shakes up staff at Oregon Zoo

By The Associated Press Published: Jun 18, 2012 at 6:30 PM PDT
New director shakes up staff at Oregon Zoo
In this photo taken Aug. 19, 2010, Duffy a male gibbon at the Oregon Zoo scrambles through the space he shares with the zoo's orangutans in the Red Ape Reserve as Senior Primate Keeper David Thomas, foreground, speaks in Portland, Ore. Thomas was in charge of the exhibit. A shake-up at the Oregon Zoo has led to an exodus of more than a quarter of its staff, including Thomas, a well-known primate keeper. The turnover follows a critical audit and the arrival of a new director, the Oregonian reported Monday, June 18, 2012. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Brent Wojahn)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A shake-up at the Oregon Zoo has led to an exodus of more than a quarter of its staff, including a well-known primate keeper.

The turnover follows a critical audit and the arrival of a new director, the Oregonian reported Monday.

Zoo workers say morale is down, but Director Kim Smith says things are turning around.

"Change takes three to five years," said Smith. "We're at year three. I feel like all that really painful stuff is over."

An audit in October showed management and finance problems have been solved.

Smith took over from former Director Tony Vecchio in 2010 after the audit found disjointed management and a $1.6 million cost overrun on a new Predator of the Serengeti exhibit, which added cheetahs and lions to the collection.

Since the beginning of 2010, 41 of 157 regular staff members have gone. Seventeen resigned; eight retired, weren't medically able to work, or died; and 16 were terminated. Departures have been felt all over the zoo, and most of the vacancies have been filled. The zoo also has 484 temporary or seasonal employees.

The Portland zoo is under the control of the regional government Metro. It has a $20 million annual operating budget and 2,000 animals to care for.

Among the departures was 62-year-old Dave Thomas, the lead primate keeper who spent 38 years caring for the zoo's chimpanzees, orangutans and other animals.

He was given the option to resign or be fired after he breached a safety protocol by stepping into a hallway where chimps were present. He resigned and has acknowledged the mistake. Weeks earlier a keeper made a similar error and got only a reprimand.

Smith said she hoped to find Thomas a new post, perhaps in the education department, if he wants it.

Laborers' International Local 483 represents about 120 employees, and union leaders said workers are concerned about disciplinary processes being used for minor policy offenses.

"With the financial pressures that Metro is facing, the burden often falls on the front-line employees in the parks or the zoo, who are being asked to do more with less," said Megan Hise, Local 483 communications director. "It's not a sustainable situation."

___

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press