By Shawn Regan
The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
HAVERHILL, Mass. — A firefighter who suffered a stroke used about 240 sick days donated to him by other firefighters in the last 18 months, accounting for much of the surge in sick leave used by members of the department last year, the firefighters union president, Tyler Kimball, said.
Two other firefighters are battling cancer, and another’s wife was recently diagnosed with that disease, factors that also played roles in increased sick days used by firefighters, Kimball said.
Kimball and other Haverhill firefighters reacted angrily yesterday to information recently released by Mayor James Fiorentini showing that firefighters used more sick leave last year than any other city workers. They also object to comments by the mayor that he is particularly concerned about jumps in sick time at the Fire and Highway departments.
Fiorentini disputed Kimball’s suggestion that firefighters who missed work due to the cases of stroke and cancer caused the increase in sick time use last year. The mayor said the numbers he provided documenting sick time by city employees do not include so-called “sick bank” time that is donated from one firefighter to another, or federal Family Medical Leave Act time for workers with documented long-term illnesses or who are taking care of newborns or family members with serious illnesses.
“We excluded long-term illnesses (from the numbers) because we wanted to be compassionate,” Fiorentini said.
According to the mayor’s figures, 101 firefighters called out sick 1,099 days last year, not including sick bank or Family Leave Act time. When those reasons for missing work are included, the information shows firefighters used 1,172 sick days in 2007, compared with 898 in 2006 and 801 in 2005.
Kimball also said the mayor’s information does not include the fact that about half of Haverhill’s 91 firefighters had perfect job attendance last year. He said the total number of firefighters is 91, not 101, because the mayor is not replacing firefighters as they retire.
“No other department has a higher rate of perfect attendance than us,” Kimball said. “At the mayor’s last perfect attendance lunch, there were more firefighters than anyone else.”
Fire Capt. Rick Accardi, public relations officer for the firefighters union, blasted Fiorentini for focusing the sick time issue on firefighters.
“If the mayor feels (missing work because of) stroke and cancer are an abuse to the system, that’s disgusting and uncaring,” Accardi said in a statement. “Everyone I know has been crushed by watching a loved one waste away and die from cancer. I’m sorry if this affects the mayor’s bottom line.”
Mike Sullivan has been a Haverhill firefighter for 25 years. In the last five years, he said he has missed just one shift due to illness, he said.
“I tried to come in for that one, but I was taken to the hospital by another firefighter and diagnosed with vertigo,” Sullivan said. “Instead of pitting one department against another and playing dirty politics, the mayor should get his facts straight.”
Sullivan said firefighters work 24-hour shifts, which count as three regular days, he said. So when a firefighter is out sick, he usually misses three work days and has to use three sick days, he said.
“That’s one reason the numbers seem high,” Sullivan said. “And even for long-term illnesses and injuries, they start us off on sick time until we can prove the injury or sickness is serious or job-related.”
The issue of excessive sick leave by city employees was thrust into the spotlight when it was revealed at a recent City Council meeting that the School Department overshot its budget to pay substitute teachers and other school workers by $256,000 last year. That was because as many as 25 high school staff members were absent from work on an average day, according to numbers provided by the School Department.
After that meeting, Fiorentini said excessive sick time use is a problem in several city departments, particularly fire and highway, and he is looking to crack down on it. Firefighters missed an average of 11 days last year, and highway workers missed nine days on average.
Other employees with high rates of sick time use include building inspectors, members of the Police Department who are not officers, and workers in the city clerk, tax collector and auditor offices.
The mayor said excessive sick time use led the city to start enforcing tough sick time language in labor contracts with police patrolmen and superior officers and water employees. He said the city closely compared sick time use in the first six months of this year with the first six months of 2007. He said he wants to include strong sick time provisions in new contracts with firefighters, teachers and other city workers.
The firefighters have been without a contract for more than two years, and talks between the city and union have been slow, both sides said. The School Committee also is currently negotiating a new contract with Haverhill teachers.
Copyright 2008
The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Massachusetts)