By Donna Porstner
Staff Writer
February 1, 2008
STAMFORD - The Board of Representatives has approved a pact that
brings all of the city's paid firefighters under a single labor
contract, taking Stamford one step closer to finalizing the
merger of the paid and volunteer fire departments.
The board voted 24-8 Wednesday in favor of the agreement, an
addendum to the city's labor contract with Local 786 of the
International Association of Fire Fighters.
The contract gives 34 employees working for the Turn of River
Fire Department, and those formerly employed by Belltown and
Glenbrook fire departments, 21Ú2 years of retroactive wage
increases and makes them employees of Stamford Fire & Rescue.
They were city employees assigned to volunteer houses.
The contract calls for 3 percent wage increases on July 1,
although those hired by the volunteer departments before 1999
won't be eligible for the increase since their salaries are
higher than their counterparts at Stamford Fire & Rescue.
Under the agreement, the veteran firefighters' salaries are
frozen until their counterparts downtown catch up.
All paid firefighters have received the same health and pension
benefits since 1999 but they have had two separate contracts
until now, Fire Union President Brendan Keatley said.
The city agreed not to layoff any firefighters before June 30,
2009, when the labor contract they are joining expires.
The deal does not benefit all members financially but the
membership overwhelmingly supported it because it provides job
security and increases minimum manpower requirements, Keatley
said. In most cases, the contract requires the city to staff each
firehouse with four firefighters at all times.
Previously, volunteer houses sometimes had only one or two paid
firefighters on duty, which made it difficult to comply with
federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards
that require two equally trained and equipped firefighters
outside for every two that enter a burning building or other
hazardous situation. The union filed a complaint against the
Glenbrook department and the city in September after a paid
firefighter was injured fighting an attic fire alone until backup
arrived.
"Some say, 'I'm not getting a raise, but I feel safer
knowing I'm going home to my wife and kids,' " Keatley said.
"They feel that this is the right way the fire service in
this city should be moving and they are willing to sacrifice to
do it."
Some elected officials question whether the labor contract went
too far by making firefighters working at Turn of River employees
of Stamford Fire & Rescue, reporting to Fire Chief Robert
McGrath. By approving the contract, they have, in effect,
approved the merger, they said. Turn of River has taken the city
to court in an attempt to block the merger.
"We're voting to unify the fire services with this
thing," said city Rep. Gregory Lodato, R-20, a member from
North Stamford who voted against the contract.
The contract violates the city Charter, which gives the chiefs of
the volunteer departments control over fire services in their
districts, Lodato said. Under the Charter, the fire districts set
in 1977 may be changed only with a two-thirds vote of the Board
of Representatives.
"My board members disagreed in the end, so we have a
contract that's pretty heavy on public policy," Lodato said.
In a legal opinion sent to the board, Director of Legal Affairs
Thomas Cassone said the contract does not violate the Charter
because it does not change the fire districts. Should Turn of
River not want Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters working in
their district, the city would "presumably" honor that
request, Cassone said.
Asked what will happen should Turn of River refuse to allow
Stamford Fire & Rescue employees to work in that district,
Cassone said he does not know how fire coverage would be
provided.
"If it gets to that point, we'll cross that bridge when we
come to it," he said. "But I don't see that
happening."
Whatever lies ahead, the city will put public safety first,
Cassone said.
City Rep. Joseph Coppola, R-15, a former Belltown Fire Department
chief, said he is concerned that the expansion of Stamford Fire
& Rescue will kill the volunteer system, and an all-paid fire
department will cost taxpayers more.
"At some point this administration will be gone, this board
will be filled with different faces, but the legacy of what has
been done will be haunting," Coppola said, reading from a
prepared statement before the vote.
City officials have said declining participation of volunteers
created a greater reliance on paid firefighters, and the merger
is needed to protect the city.
Administrators have said the merger will save money because
supervisors may assign firefighters where they are needed most.
In the past, each department staffed from its own ranks and often
paid overtime to have firefighters fill in for those taking sick
or vacation time.
Director of Human Resources Dennis Murphy said putting all of the
paid firefighters under the same command will save the city
$316,908 in overtime spending for the fiscal year that ends June
30.
This week, the Turn of River department wrote to Board of
Representatives President David Martin, D-19, asking him to delay
voting on the labor contract until the court case is resolved.
Martin said they had to vote Wednesday because under state law
his board has 45 days to reject a labor contract, otherwise it
would be automatically approved.
Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.