TRENTON — A photo circulating that shows a suggestively-posed unclothed mannequin inside the city's solid waste division office is being investigated, a union official said today.

The photo, obtained by The Times of Trenton, shows a blonde unclothed doll or mannequin leaning over an office counter. A city employee who asked to remain anonymous said the doll appeared there July 21, upsetting female employees who found the placement offensive.

Edmund Johnson, the president of AFSCME Local 2286, the city's blue collar union, said he heard about the incident several weeks ago and saw the same photo last night.

“I want to get details before I begin to pursue the issue and find out exactly what happened,” Johnson said. “The first time I inquired about it no one knew exactly who did what.”

Garland Barber, the supervisor of the division, said he “heard about the incident” but wasn’t present that day. He said he had no idea who placed the doll there, and referred questions to Harold Hall, the former acting director of the public works department. The city's solid waste division is headquartered outside City Hall, in a building on Calhoun Street.

Hall was replaced last night by Luis Mollinedo, whom council confirmed as the city's new public works director. Mollinedo could not be reached for comment, but told council members at the confirmation hearing Thursday that he knew how to discipline and supervise workers.

"Issues like you mentioned before, I have plenty of experience with that," he told council. "You nip it in the bud. You can't have a workforce that feels unsupervised."

Johnson said no employees have filed a formal complaint with him, but said he would open an inquiry into the incident.

“It is a concern,” he said. “We have to realize we have a diverse group in terms of gender and if it’s something that’s being brought up by one of the female employees it’s something worth looking at.”

An e-mail sent to Mayor Tony Mack's administration was not immediately returned.

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