Demands? I think using that term shows how polarized this issue has become – and by this issue I don’t just mean city firefighters’ negotiations, I mean the whole union vs. the world foolishness.
The city firefighters have expressed in very plain terms their desire to maintain some modicum of safety and basic response capabilities for the city fire department. Unfortunately, Rick Gray and Tim Gregg are only focused on the financial bottom line. They absolutely refuse to acknowledge the fact that operating a full time fire department costs money.
Here’s the answer to your question:
Firefighters want enough people to do the job properly. That includes enough staffing to have firefighters immediately available to do each job required at the fire scene, including standby firefighters who can intervene in the event that an operating firefighter is injured or requires assistance inside an involved structure. The recent layoffs and pressure placed on firefighters to retire has reduced the fire department’s on duty staffing by 20%.
Firefighters want adequate equipment to do their job properly. As I’ve previously expressed, Gregg’s recent decision to shut down Truck 1 on East King Street not only lengthens response times to fires east of Queen Street, it eliminates the only ladder truck that can actually travel down the narrow streets of Lancaster. Neither Rick Gray or Tim Gregg offered any legitimate reasoning for the decision to eliminate Truck 1, stating that it would “consolidate manpower.” However, the shutdown of Truck 1 only shuffles deckchairs on the Titanic in terms of staffing, leaving 11 firefighters on duty either way. Please note that the elimination of Truck 1 stands in direct contravention to the findings of the Management Partners report obtained by Gray in 2006 and paraded by Gray as the blueprint for repairing Lancaster’s financial woes. More on that below.
Firefighters want paid for the hours they work. Rick Gray’s Management Partner’s report calls for the firefighters to change their work schedule to a 72 hour per week schedule made up of 24 hour shifts. This schedule change has been discussed ad nauseam since it was first proposed in 2009. What Gray and Gregg never mentioned, and what firefighters object to about the city’s plan, is that it would force firefighters to work a minimum of 300 hours, the equivalent of about 13% more time without compensation. In other words the city wants firefighters to work an additional month for free. I know of no enterprise, commercial, non-profit or governmental that would attempt to its workforce into compulsory work with no compensation. Ignoring the obvious ethical questions raised by the city’s plan, there are legal implications that the city has refused to acknowledge. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act mandates that overtime be paid to any non-exempt worker who works over 40 hours per week. The city’s plan completely ignores this federal law and does not take into account that more than a third of the hours worked by firefighters under the 24/48 plan would be considered overtime.
Firefighters want a work environment that is free of harassment and intimidation from vindictive and acrimonious managers. In the past year alone one senior field supervisor has retired, another has resigned and a junior firefighter has resigned. All three cited harassment, intimidation and retribution for union actions as reasons for leaving the department. Tim Gregg has fostered an unprofessional, divisive work environment that is forcing talented and capable staff from the ranks of the city’s fire department, all a loss for the city. None of these personnel have been replaced.
The issues are really very simple to understand. Gray and Gregg have repeatedly attempted to frame the discussion in terms of “greed” on the part of the firefighters when the issue is based on nothing of the sort. This is a debate about safe working conditions and equitable pay. Firefighters aren’t seeking anything more than what they need to do the job
Your letters and Mr. Fields’ prominent positioning of them on his site provide daily comedic relief. Thank you!
You state that you are not seeking anything more than what you need to do the job. Really?!?!?!? So you can’t do the job without your outrageously generous compensation package that is destroying the very city that you supposedly care about? Cut us a break. We see through the smokescreen and realize this is just about you grabbing every last cent the poor citizens of Lancaster City have left.
Stay tuned for the coming disclosure of the pay and benefit package Lancaster City firefighter’s receive. One quick qquestion: do the citizens pay for themovie DVD’s that you spend the day watching too?
Since you’ve done such a good job of outlining the fire fighter demands, would be so kind as to outline the firefighters salary, pension, work, and benefits schedule. This way the readers can have all the data with which to make an informed opinion.
That seems reasonable and fair.
The ‘Bottom Line’ for Mayor Rick would be substantially different if the Convention Center and Marriott Hotel were paying their fair (full) share of real estate taxes to the City. We can thank PSP, LNP and Dale High for their ‘contributions’ to the well-being and safety of City residents.
To the first commenter:
To suggest that firefighters are living high on the hog in this city so far off base it’s absurd.
To the second commenter:
Firefighters are paid on a scale based on current position, years of service and specialized training. Most firefighters make a base salary somewhere around an average $55K.
There are two ranks of unionized firefighters who make wages between 62-70K, Captains and Battalion Chiefs. These positions are responsible for incident management and day-to-day operational supervision of the firefighters, therefor make more.
There are also only 4 Captains and now 3 Battalion Chiefs, so they make up about 10% of the current fire department.
The cost of firefighter benefits varies based on the dependent coverage selected by the employee. The figures change each year, but generally range from less than 10K for a single firefighter, to around 20K for a firefighter with a spouse and children. Keep in mind that these costs are not determined by the firefighters, but by the city when it chooses which insurance carrier to provide coverage to the employees.
Also, firefighters pay a premium each paycheck for those benefits, somewhere around $40-100 per month depending on the coverage selected.
As far as retirement goes, firefighters contribute the equivalent of their social security tax obligation to the pension fund.
Firefighters are civil service employees who are not eligible to receive social security in retirement so the pension contributions essentially take the place of the social security obligation. At retirement firefighters receive an amount equal to 1/2 of the salary of the next highest rank, so a Lieutenant receives half a Captain’s pay, a Captain receives half a Battalion Chief and so on. It should be noted that the firefighter’s pension fund is solvent.
Firefighters work 48 hours each week. They are paid for 42. They receive no overtime unless called in while otherwise off duty.
This is a basic accounting of the information you were seeking. The employment contract for firefighters is a public record and available at city hall. I’d also recommend seeking out the same information as it relates to the city’s police department. You’ll find that city police officers are paid significantly more, receive considerable overtime, contribute less to their healthcare benefits and that there are more than four times as many of them. Yet not one city police officer has been targeted for layoff.
If this matter were truly about money, I believe that there would be a more equitable effort to trim costs across the board in all city departments. Instead, one department has born the brunt of city cutbacks, which has created considerable questions about that department’s capabilities to operate safely and effectively.