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Florida Professional Firefighters declare boycott on Clearwater
By ALEXANDRA CALDWELL
Article published on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 |
CLEARWATER – The Florida Professional Firefighters urges its members and firefighters across the nation to boycott the city of Clearwater for what it calls “their unethical and illegal treatment of its firefighters,” according to a press release.
The city of Clearwater calls the boycott “part of the playbook” for contract negotiations, said Doug Matthews, director of public communications for Clearwater.
David Hogan, secretary and treasurer for the Clearwater Firefighters Association, said the boycott began June 13 by a unanimous vote at the Florida Professional Firefighters convention because of unfair treatment for the past seven or eight years.
“(The boycott) is an encouragement for the firefighters of the state of Florida plus their families to not spend a single dollar in the city of Clearwater,” Hogan said, “and it also encourages the International Association of Firefighters, likewise, not to spend a single dollar in the city of Clearwater because of the treatment of firefighters.”
There are about 26,000 members of the Florida Professional Firefighters and the boycott also speaks to the 280,000 firefighters across the nation and Canada.
The firefighters’ complaints, presented at www.saveclearwaterfire.org, include the 2005 sexual discrimination case against fire Chief Jamie Geer when he disallowed all nine female firefighters from entering burning buildings; several firings that were overturned; six unfair labor practices; and numerous grievances. A statement released by the Firefighters Association calls it “a personal war by (city manager William) Horne and (fire chief Jamie) Geer against the Clearwater Fire Fighters (sic) Association.”
The Clearwater Firefighters Association also unanimously voted to boycott the Florida Firefighter Games, which allegedly was to occur in Clearwater this year and bring about $4 million to the city, Hogan said.
“I think the result that we’re looking for is that the city’s treatment of the firefighters and paramedics will be changed. That we can obtain a fair contract and we can receive equitable treatment like the other employees in the city,” Hogan said. “. . . (The boycott is) obviously going to make a financial impact.”
Matthews said he doesn’t feel the firefighters are treated unfairly and that the boycotts are just because contract negotiations are at an impasse. He also doesn’t think the boycott will financially impact the city.
“Really what this comes down to is they’re willing to make an attempt to punish citizens and businesses for disagreements in pay,” Matthews said. “We don’t think that the requests, or the demands, that they have in their latest proposal are in the best interests of the citizens, and this is a means for them to put pressure on the council, and we’re not going to let them do that.”
Matthews said the issues the union wants that the city disagrees with are the following:
- Extra pay if firefighters are asked to temporarily fill in for a lower job classification, even though they would already receive their regular higher pay.
- To be paid overtime if firefighters are called in to participate in training, meetings or events, even if the accumulated hours don’t meet the state requirements for overtime.
- To have individual authority over what station they’re assigned to.
- A two-hour lunch break, a half-hour coffee break and no work other than regular calls on their scheduled shift during weekends, holidays or any day after 5 p.m.
John Lee, president of the Clearwater Firefighters Association, insists the boycott is not based solely on negotiations.
“It’s about the group of issues listed on www.saveclearwaterfire.org. It’s not totally about negotiations,” Lee said. “It’s about the unjust treatment that they’re doing to their firefighters. I think the city would like to frame it that way, but that’s not the case.”
Negotiations about pay, though, is a sensitive issue among the union members, Lee said.
“The city budgeted 4 percent for a raise for firefighters this year,” Lee said. “The city manager and his staff all got raises,” Lee said. “Amendment One came and went and they all got their raises, but we don’t. We think the citizens should know what’s going on . . . We’re asking our union brothers and sisters to spend their money somewhere else other than Clearwater.”
Matthews said the firefighters will get their usual raises throughout the contract negotiations. According to Matthews, every firefighter gets a 5 percent increase each of their first five years of employment and a 2.5 percent raise for every of the following 12 years with the city, which are called step raises. This year, 79 firefighters will receive a 5 percent raise, Matthews said, and 40 will get a 2.5 percent raise. Any additional raises, he said, would need to be agreed upon during negotiations.
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Article published on Wednesday, June 25, 2008
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