Firefighters, city leaders bump heads over legislation

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 6/11/15

At the Senate Labor Committee hearing Tuesday afternoon, the only thing that could be agreed upon is that the “overtime bill” for firefighters is the most important legislation of the 2015 …

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Firefighters, city leaders bump heads over legislation

Posted

At the Senate Labor Committee hearing Tuesday afternoon, the only thing that could be agreed upon is that the “overtime bill” for firefighters is the most important legislation of the 2015 General Assembly.

The opposing parties, municipal and union leaders, argued two very different outcomes should the bill pass.

More than a dozen mayors and town managers from claimed that the bill would cause financial hardship, hampering on an overtime system that is already broken, while union leaders said the bill would do nothing more than keep the “status quo,” the hours in a regular work week with no extra cost to municipalities.

Before the hearing, Lieutenant Governor Daniel McKee, along with municipal leaders, held a press conference to publicly express their opposition to the bill.

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza pointed out that together they all represented upwards of 70 percent of Rhode Island’s population.

The leaders who spoke expressed concern not only over the possible fiscal implications of the bill but also the hardship it would add to leaders in governing their respective communities. McKee said that it would “tie the hands of municipal leaders.”

Mayor Scott Avedisian, who did not speak at the press conference but was there “in support of his fellow mayors,” said, “We have tough jobs. This legislation would hamper our ability to do what’s best for our cities to let us do our jobs.”

Warwick has already completed negotiations with the firefighters and the legislation supposedly does not affect any agreements already in practice, but Warwick would be affected in three years when the contracts expire.

Avedisian said that in Warwick the department has used nearly the same agreement for manning since the 1970s and when the contract is up again negotiations will transpire as they always have.

Mayor Elorza was much more heated in his arguments both during the press conference and at the Senate Committee meeting. He said in Providence the overtime system is broken and “unsustainable.” He said one firefighter makes more than $100,000 in overtime alone.

As a representative of the Rhode Island State Association of Firefighters, Paul Valletta, a Cranston firefighter and union president, said that the reason there is so much overtime is because leaders won’t hire more firefighters. Currently, Providence’s maximum staffing is over 500, but they have less than 400 employed and active firefighters.

“They are crying about a system they created because they thought it would be cheaper to pay the overtime,” Valletta said.

Elorza has been negotiating with the Providence department since late May and says the bill would prevent the two parties from coming to the table. Elorza would like to see the department go from four to three platoons and lengthening the work week from 42 hours to 56, but assured that he would not be doing so without compensating the firefighters andwould not negotiate in public.

Senator Frank Lombardi, lead sponsor of the bill, said that this was about “fundamental fairness” and career firefighters have the right to bargain for better conditions.

“I know no other institution or place of employment that would do this,” Lombardi said. “They put their lives on the line for us. Maybe there are abusers of the system, but that’s not the system.”

Dan Beardsley, executive director of Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, said that any individual municipality fire department already has the tools to fight unfair working conditions through Labor Board, but “they want you to give them something they are not willing to fight at the table.”

“We just want to be like any other employee,” Valletta said, “and get paid if we work more than our regular week.”

Valletta called out the mayors who attended the press conference, saying that if a firefighter were to die on duty they would all be honoring him at the wake.

“Respect us while we are alive,” Valletta said.

Elorza didn’t negate the work of firefighters, he even called them “heroes,” but he said, “The truth is they are overreaching on this issue. Supporting our firefighters should not mean bringing the state’s cities and towns to their knees.”

McKee said he was afraid that the bill has developed into a Providence issue but cautioned senators that the bill would have repercussions both fiscally and administratively for every municipality in the state.

Several speakers pointed out that Rhode Island has some of the highest costs per capita for fire safety in the country. A sponsor on the bill, Senator Frank Ciccone, said it doesn’t matter where Rhode Island is compared, there is nothing that says our state can’t treat our firefighters better than the rest.

According to Ken Block, the bill would “disadvantage” an already struggling Rhode Island and said that in our economic recovery “no one can afford to be the best paid.”

The bill has been scheduled for consideration in the Senate tonight.

Comments

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  • Notbornyesterday

    Ken block can lie all he wants. This bill does not add one cost. ZERO. All contracts currently include 42 hours as a base pay. This bill will not change that. This bill simply says if you want to force firefighters to work 14 hours more a week you have to pay them over time. Providence is currently offering to pay their firefighters $3.57/hr for extra 14 hours THAT IS REDICULOUS. This bill simply adds protection. Don't let the brain dead people like Ken Block lead you to believe there is any cost associated with these bill AGAIN THERE IS ZERO COST. ZERO ZERO ZERO ZERO.....

    Thursday, June 11, 2015 Report this

  • JohnStark

    1. The Providence Fire Dept. has an absentee rate of 25% per day. Others fill in for the OT. It's a Scam, and it's Unsustainable.

    2. The state has no business dictating to cities and town what they can and can't do with their firefighters. This legislation should never have seen the light of day. It is not a state issue except for those state reps who are shilling for the firefighters' union.

    Thursday, June 11, 2015 Report this

  • Notbornyesterday

    somits fair to force someone to work 14 hours for free or what their mayor if offering $3.57 an hour?

    Thursday, June 11, 2015 Report this

  • RIposter

    The job of the Chiefs in the fire department should be to monitor overtime abuses. Having said that I think the abusers are a very small percentage. What they don't mention is the costs of hiring additional personnel, expenses such as benefits, pension contributions, SS contributions, etc. It costs more to hire people than to pay overtime because overtime is not a guaranteed salary. Any politician advocating to break the states labor laws on overtime because he cannot balance his budget is a thief.

    Friday, June 12, 2015 Report this

  • allent

    tail trying to wag the dog....again!

    Friday, June 12, 2015 Report this