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IAFF Local Counterattacks Against Layoff Proposal.

4 comments

EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS, IS NOTORIOUS FOR ITS DEGRADATION over the past 20 years and they are having a difficult time turning things around.  Thirty years ago the city had nine fire stations, where today they operate only four, each staffed with a 3-man engine company (one quint).  Now the city leaders are proposing eliminating 13 firefighter positions through layoffs, reducing the alloted strength from 58 to 45.

Local 23 IAFF is fighting back, though.  The Local president told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

(T)he firefighter layoffs would violate the contract between the city and its firefighters.  Jason Blackmon, the president of Firefighters Local 23, said the union would move to block the layoffs of the firefighters, possibly through legal action.

“Right now, they are in direct violation of the contract,” Blackmon said, after the mayor announced the layoffs at a news conference at City Hall.

“It’s devastating to the (fire) department, because we put our lives on the line every day, and we are already understaffed,” Blackmon added.  “It’s a slap in our face.”

The Post-Dispatch also reported that the mayor added that the city would likely depend more heavily than ever on mutual aid from other departments to fight the worst fires. Firefighters from St. Louis and from Washington Park, Centreville and other nearby communities have helped East St. Louis firefighters battle major blazes in the past.

But according to the Local’s website, St. Louis and Belleville will only respond to assist at “major” fires and the other depts. are volunteer organizations that are having staffing difficulties of their own.

The city council will be considering this proposal on Tuesday and the Local has begun running this video announcement on local tv stations:

Read Local 23′s “Fact Sheet” on their website HERE.
East St. Louis Fire Dept. WEBSITE.

Posted by on September 18, 2009 • Filed under: labor
  • B. Morgan

    With all the potential downsizing and FF layoffs looming I wonder if the city administrations are responsible for not requiring sprinklers in all new construction and renovations of both comerical and residential buildings. Do they keep up hydrants and the like, or have all the public works staff been laidoff also? When you start to count on mutual aid all the time can the department respond in kind and not strip all the coverage from the city?

    Now what happens when the mayors house catches fire and his family is trapped inside and a single engine with 3 on board shows up?

    I watched a cash strapped federal agency strip and eliminate its field operations while continuing to expand and upgrade mamagement. It lost its ability to carry out the very mission it was charged with, as a result many national treasures are in grave danger of damage or destruction.

  • B. Morgan

    With all the potential downsizing and FF layoffs looming I wonder if the city administrations are responsible for not requiring sprinklers in all new construction and renovations of both comerical and residential buildings. Do they keep up hydrants and the like, or have all the public works staff been laidoff also? When you start to count on mutual aid all the time can the department respond in kind and not strip all the coverage from the city?

    Now what happens when the mayors house catches fire and his family is trapped inside and a single engine with 3 on board shows up?

    I watched a cash strapped federal agency strip and eliminate its field operations while continuing to expand and upgrade mamagement. It lost its ability to carry out the very mission it was charged with, as a result many national treasures are in grave danger of damage or destruction.

  • http://www.report-on-conditions.blogspot.com/ Joseph Schmoe

    Have the department’s operational objectives changed with the greatly reduced staffing levels? What policies and procedures have been changed as a result?

    My guess is probably not. The pols know that our culture requires we hang it all out, regardless of the external influences that hamper our actions.

    Good luck to our brothers in E.S.L.

  • http://www.report-on-conditions.blogspot.com Joseph Schmoe

    Have the department’s operational objectives changed with the greatly reduced staffing levels? What policies and procedures have been changed as a result?

    My guess is probably not. The pols know that our culture requires we hang it all out, regardless of the external influences that hamper our actions.

    Good luck to our brothers in E.S.L.