DaytonDailyNews.com

The union representing firefighters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base says it will ask for binding arbitration in its dispute with the Air Force Materiel Command over firefighter staffing levels at Wright-Pat and three other bases.

The International Association of Fire Fighters will file the arbitration request with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service within a week, said James Johnson, a district vice president with the Washington-based union.

The union, which is negotiating with the Air Force on a new contract at Wright-Patterson and three other AFMC-supervised bases, opposes the command's decisions to reduce firefighter staffing on bases.

The union filed a grievance last month which challenged the command's decision to reduce from three to two the number of firefighters dispatched aboard a fire rescue truck in response to a crash, AFMC spokesmen said Thursday. The AFMC responded that the required number of firefighters on the scene of a crash would not change from current requirements, suggesting that they could be dispatched from other sources.

The union interpreted the AFMC response as a denial of the grievance, Johnson said. The federal mediation service keeps a list of arbitrators from which the union and AFMC can pick one who would hear the arguments and render a decision, Johnson said. That could take months, he said.

The AFMC eliminated nine firefighter positions in January and will eliminate nine more by October to shift resources to warfighting operations and in line with a service-wide reduction in manpower, AFMC spokesman Robert Ely said. Eight additional positions will be eliminated in April 2008 because improvements in fire suppression systems and fire-retardant construction on base has reduced Wright-Patterson's need for firefighters, Ely said.

Overall, the Air Force plans to cut 902 firefighter positions at a total of 90 fire departments throughout the system, reducing a total firefighting force the union estimates at between 3,700 and 4,000 now, Johnson said.

Negotiators have completed about three-fourths of the new contract, with the next negotiating session remaining to be scheduled, Johnson said.

He said the union is concerned that the staffing cuts will put its firefighters at risk, but the AFMC counters that the reductions won't compromise the safety of firefighters or base employees.

Congress sets the pay for firefighters. Starting pay for civilian firefighters on military bases is about $46,000, Johnson said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.