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Firefighters asked to give up raises in 'ultimatum' proposal

Dayton also asks union to forgo holiday pay on four days next year.

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By Lucas Sullivan, Staff Writer 11:12 PM Friday, July 17, 2009

City firefighters will vote next week on a contract proposal being characterized by a union official as an “ultimatum” issued by city officials trying to fill a $6 million deficit.

A copy of the memorandum of understanding posted in fire stations and obtained late Thursday, July 16, by the Dayton Daily News asks firefighters to forgo raises next year and give up holiday pay on Labor Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Good Friday and Memorial Day in 2010.

Qualified firefighters will also be asked to work up in rank with no additional pay.

In return, the city will take the demotion of nine district chiefs off the table and not lay off any firefighters through the end of May.

Mike Fasnacht, International Association of Firefighters Local 136 president, said the MOU is not a compromise, but an “ultimatum” from City Manager Rashad Young.

“(The city) might call this a mutual agreement, but we were (told) that if we don’t pass this the city would lay off firefighters, demote the district chiefs and take (fire vehicles) out of service,” Fasnacht said Friday, July 17.

Young said he has not issued any ultimatums and said Fasnacht is being “disingenuous.”

“This is not about retribution,” Young said. “All you have to do is look at the math when it comes to the budget deficit. I did say we would have to take equipment out of service if we got to that point, but there was never a threat made.”

The roughly 330 firefighters will vote on the MOU Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. If passed, the MOU would be in effect until October 2010.

Fasnacht said he has approached Young about other areas of the IAFF contract that could be cut in order to save the city about $600,000. He would not elaborate.

Young said Fasnacht’s ideas didn’t add up to enough savings and the fire department must make similar concessions as did the Dayton Public Service Union, which has already agreed to a wage freeze next year.

“I am not going to create a situation where we have employees that look at other employees as being better than they are,” Young said. “As I am doing this I have to be concerned about the morale of our organization.”

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-2494 or  lsullivan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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