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Firefighters, Mayor Pay Dispute Heading Towards Resolution

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 20, 2008

TAMPA - Not every city controversy makes its way to YouTube.

This one did, though: Should firefighters get the pay raise they say they deserve, or should Mayor Pam Iorio prevail in her attempt to try to hold down personnel costs?

The city council is scheduled to decide the issue Friday at a special meeting, where firefighters are expected to pack council chambers.

The meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m., should end a yearlong debate over whether the firefighters' pay demands are fair or unrealistic. The mayor says the union is asking for a 10 percent raise; union officials counter that for more than half its members, the actual increase would be far less.

Council members, some of whom have aspirations of running for mayor, will find themselves between two very different constituencies: the politically powerful fire union and taxpayers who balk at big raises for government employees.

"It's going to be a very difficult for them," said former Councilman Bob Buckhorn, who now runs his own political consulting firm. "This is going to be an emotional decision."

The firefighters, he said, are "organized, they're politically effective and they are fiercely loyal to those who are loyal to them." On the other hand, he said, "In a time when everybody is tightening their belt and city revenue is declining, some may look at the position of the city not to give them a pay raise as a reasonable one."

After several rounds of negotiations last year, the firefighters union declared an impasse and turned to a special magistrate to help settle the dispute. When the special magistrate sided with the administration, the firefighters rejected the recommendation, landing the matter in council's hands.

The union and administration are trying to agree on a one-year contract. The previous contract expired Sept. 30.

Different Numbers

The two sides can't even agree on the numbers they are arguing about.

Larry Parker, fire union president, said he is seeking a 4 percent cost-of-living increase. The union also is seeking a 5 percent step increase, but Parker argues that more than half of the roughly 560 union members wouldn't be eligible for the step increase because they already are at the top of their pay scales.

The city administration says the fire union is seeking a total 10 percent pay increase.

"The city keeps insisting we are asking for a 10 percent increase, which is untrue," Parker said. "For them to say we're asking for 10 percent is ridiculous. Half don't get that."

The administration is offering a 3 percent cost-of-living increase and a 3.5 percent average step increase, for a total offer of 6.5 percent.

That's reasonable, Chief of Staff Darrell Smith said.

"We are very, very appreciative of the firefighters. They do superb work, they do a tough job, but we have to consider firefighters with other city employees and the overall city budget," Smith said.

The gap between what the administration is offering and what the union wants in terms of salary is about $900,000, Smith said.

Smith and Iorio say local government has to make do with less, especially in light of property tax reform that has cut the city's revenue by millions. Parker insists the city can afford to pay the firefighters what they're asking.

"We will show there is plenty of money available," Parker said. "It's not that they don't have plenty of money to pay us, it's that they don't want to."

He also complains that under the city's proposal, it would take firefighters four years longer to get to the top of the pay scale.

Starting firefighters now make about $34,000. The maximum salary for a veteran firefighter is about $63,000. District fire chiefs top out at about $90,000.

Dispute Goes Digital

Both sides have been vocal about their positions.

The fire union has hired an economist, has protested at city hall and has filed a lawsuit against the city. The firefighters won their argument that the city must give firefighters their step raises despite the ongoing contract dispute.

Someone last year posted a video about the issue on YouTube. Parker said he doesn't know who made the eight-minute video, which shows blips of the mayor talking about having "the best" firefighter recruits interspersed with questions about why Iorio has "refused all reasonable terms" during contract talks.

In a recent message to union members, Parker wrote that union officials have been "talking to council members on a regular basis and will continue right up to the meeting."

Iorio's team, too, has made the rounds to council members' offices. According to at least one councilmember, human resources representatives told him that if the council sides with the firefighters, the city will need to lay off more employees.

Iorio, when making her budget presentation to the council earlier this month, said the council should go along with the administration's proposal because it "will set the tone for future negotiations" with the other unions.

She made a similar pitch in some of the budget books published by the city.

The city has recently started its negotiations with the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents thousands of city employees.

The Amalgamated Transit Union is seeking a 5 percent cost-of-living increase for its employees during each year of the three-year contract. The union hasn't yet proposed a merit increase scale. The administration hasn't made its pay proposal either, said Martha Stevens, union president.

Stevens is closely monitoring the ordeal with the firefighters.

"We are concerned because if they're at this point, it's not going to be easy for us," Stevens said. "We hope we can come to an agreement without an impasse, but if we have to we have to. We'll do what we have to to get a reasonable cost of living for our employees."

The Amalgamated Transit Union and administration had rocky negotiations three years ago, when the mayor pushed through a proposal to cut merit increases.

The ATU's existing contract expires Sept. 30. The police union contract expires Sept. 30, 2009.

The city council has the prerogative to side with the administration, the firefighters or to propose a compromise. After the council decides Friday, the union still will have to ratify the contract. If the union votes it down, the firefighters will revert to the terms of the old contract, with the exception of council's decisions.

The last time the city council settled a fire union contract dispute was 15 years ago. In 1993, the council sided with the union's request to trim work weeks from 52 to 48 hours.

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

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