Pa. parade faces boycott over volunteer firefighters

By Don Spatz
The Reading Eagle

READING, Pa. — Unionized Reading firefighters have threatened to boycott this year's Labor Day parade if volunteer fire companies in West Reading and Kenhorst, who have joined the city parade for decades, show up for the Sept. 7 event.

That's what United Labor Council President Fred Shaeff, Reading Fire Chief William H. Rehr III and West Reading chief Mark D. Burkholder said they've been told by the fi refighters union chief and the labor council's parade coordinator.

But union chief Keith Eschleman claimed to know nothing about it.

"It will be the Labor Day parade as always," he said. "I don't care who's in the parade."

Eschleman declined comment when asked about statements he and Vaughn D. Spencer, who is City Council president and this year's parade coordinator, made to Shaeff, Rehr and Burkholder.

Spencer could not be reached.

Burkholder said Spencer showed up at the West Reading and Kenhorst stations a week ago to ask them not to participate.

Spencer told them the Reading fi refighters had decided to boycott the parade if the volunteer companies marched, Burkholder said.

"I understand why they feel the way they do. Labor Day is a union parade," he said. "It's a shame it has to come down to this."

So, West Reading won't go, he said.

Kenhorst tried but was told the registration was closed.

"I'm not very happy about it," Kenhorst chief Roger Weidenhammer said.

The Kenhorst chief said Spencer told him that Reading firefighters had given the Labor Council an ultimatum: Either get rid of the volunteer companies in the parade or the Reading firefighters wouldn't be there.

Shaeff said union dues are used to pay the bands and prize money — as well as contributions from sources such as retailer Albert R. Boscov, Bachman Co. and Capital Blue Cross — and the Labor Council does the work. "So there's some legitimacy to this," he said.

But Rehr was angry. "This is one of the most ridiculous issues I've ever heard," he said.

The volunteer companies are there to show support for labor, Rehr said.

He asked what the organizers would do about the other nonunion people who also march in the parade.

Though off-duty firefighters, who were to march and drive the float, might boycott, Rehr said on-duty firefighters have been ordered to drive the trucks in the parade.

If they boycott, it will be considered insubordination and dealt with accordingly, he said.

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