By Eric Moskowitz
The Boston Globe
BOSTON — Hundreds of firefighters from across Massachusetts converged on the State House yesterday, demanding attention from Governor Deval Patrick and calling on him to prevent layoffs from their ranks with an infusion of federal cash.
After rallying on the front steps, the firefighters marched around the State House, shouting up toward Patrick’s office.
Edward Kelly, president of Boston Firefighters Local 718, rasped into a bullhorn: “What do we want?”
“Respect!” the firefighters cried back in unison, from a sea of red T-shirts and firefighting helmets.
“When do we want it?”
“Now!”
Patrick listened, and broke his schedule to hold a private meeting with leaders from the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts and about two dozen recently laid-off firefighters from New Bedford and Fall River.
Without making promises, the governor listened to the firefighters’ personal stories and told them he would consider allocating some money from the federal stimulus act to shore up municipal fire department rosters, according to union members and the governor’s office.
“He is giving it another look,” said Robert B. McCarthy, president of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, who said he thought it was helpful for Patrick to meet firefighters who had been terminated as a result of the economic crisis, “to see the pain, see the anguish.”
Doug Rubin, Patrick’s chief of staff, called the meeting productive. “The governor made a commitment to work with the firefighters,” Rubin said.
With the recession battering state tax collections, Patrick cut aid to cities and towns in January, a move that prompted several communities — including New Bedford, Fall River, and Brockton — to lay off more than 120 firefighters combined.
Many more cities and towns of all sizes could be forced to lay off firefighters July 1, when the new fiscal year starts, given another round of expected state-aid reductions and declines in local tax revenue, McCarthy said.
The firefighters called on Patrick to use money from the federal stimulus act, officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to prevent layoffs.
The two sides disagreed on how much money is available.
At the rally, McCarthy said the stimulus act included $1.3 billion for Massachusetts government in a line called the State Stabilization Fund, of which $180 million could be spent on police and fire departments.
“Right here today, I’ll take $45 million, governor,” McCarthy said, accusing Patrick of failing to answer repeated requests and rebuffing his appeal for the governor to join him at the rally.
According to the governor’s administration, the stimulus bill included a $994 million State Fiscal Stabilization Fund grant for Massachusetts, of which $812 million must go to education. The remaining $182 million is discretionary and can be spent across government, not just on police and fire.
Still, Patrick is listening, Rubin said.
“There are a lot of demands on the federal stimulus money, but this is a very worthy one,” he said.
The New Bedford and Fall River firefighters — wearing shirts that read “Laid-off Firefighter” and “Proud Laid-off Firefighter,” respectively — left Patrick’s office after the meeting in a somber, single-file line.
But McCarthy sounded upbeat, calling the discussion a positive turn and a start.
“My grandmother said, ‘To people who wait, good things happen,’” he said.
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