By Charlie Lardner
The York Dispatch
YORK, Pa. — York city and the union representing the city’s firefighters remain deadlocked on reaching an agreement to reduce sick leave and resulting overtime costs.
Excessive amounts of sick leave became an issue March 8 when fire chief Steven Buffington told the city council York’s 67-member department had amassed 620 sick leave shifts in 2010, resulting in $647,380 in overtime pay - more than double the $300,000 budgeted for the expense.
The issue appeared to be headed for a resolution March 10 with both management and the union offering concessions, but questions during a March 29 council meeting revealed talks had broken down. Reasons why were not offered at that time.
Tuesday, union president Fred DeSantis said the reason is that a clause the union bargaining unit is insisting on is not acceptable to the city.
The union is willing to accept a measure reducing sick leave by limiting to three the number of times a firefighter can call in sick without getting a doctor’s note to return to work, DeSantis said.
In return, the city offered to reduce from 12 to 10 the number of times per year fire department management can shift a captain to engine coverage. Doing so allows managers to shift a junior firefighter to cover for someone who is absent from work, and having that ability saves the city about $77,000 a year in overtime, Buffington said.
Contract language: Though there are other issues in play, Buffington acknowledged one key point stalling a resolution is the union’s insistence on language that could eliminate the ability to shift a captain to engine coverage. Such a clause impedes the city’s very effort to rein in overtime costs, Buffington said.
DeSantis said the language must be in the agreement because the union is litigating the current contract and, if successful, does not want to have surrendered a benefit a judge might later rule it could have kept.
DeSantis also said putting a captain on an engine splits the officers up from their tandem teams, compromising safety.
“All we’re saying is, we’re not going to sign this and if we win (in court) we still lose that (work condition) because we signed the agreement,” DeSantis said. “It’s a safety factor for the officers.”
Buffington said the city’s offer on sick days is very generous, and it is unacceptable for the union to ask for any further concessions when some firefighters are taking 43 sick days a year and others are making $29,576 in overtime on top of their regular paycheck.
“I don’t want to fight with my guys - I want to fight for them,” Buffington said. “But when everyone else in the country is taking pay cuts and pay freezes and we have some guys that keep asking for ‘more, more, more,’ - and there just isn’t any ‘more.’”
Mayor Kim Bracey said she is “appalled” by the union’s recent behavior.
“We are taking about more than $600,000 a year on the backs of taxpayers,” Bracey said. “This isn’t just about IAFF Local 627, this is about the citizens of York and the responsibility of what is a well-compensated fire department to protect them.”
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