Copyright 2006 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
By LINDA LAWSON
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
MEHLVILLE, Mo. — Firefighters say they will seek legal action to block a proposed cut in vacation time that they are calling retaliatory.
At a special session Wednesday, the Mehlville Fire Protection Board presented a plan to reduce vacation time for some employees, including firefighters and paramedics, by as much as three weeks a year. A vote on the plan is expected by July 1.
Board Chairman Aaron Hilmer says the move will save the city more than $600,000 and is fair.
“It is just more equitable and reasonable for everyone compared to other jobs,” Hilmer said.
But a spokesman for the firefighters union says the measure is retribution for a recent ruling against the board regarding the management of union workers’ pensions.
Last week, St. Louis County Associate Circuit Judge Thea Sherry barred the board from changing the union’s existing pension or liquidating further assets.
“The ruling comes down last Thursday in our favor and this Thursday we find out about this. I think it is clearly retaliatory,” said Union Local 1884 President Bob Strinni. “We will be contacting our attorney to look at all measures including age discrimination because it hurts our veteran firefighters the most.”
The board and union have been locked in a yearlong battle over the management of what Strinni says is a $30 million pension fund.
Some firefighters said they wanted to discuss the proposed vacation changes and the pension battle at the meeting Wednesday but were not allowed to.
“I’ve tried to bring the issues to the floor, but they won’t let you. You get blocked every time,” remarked firefighter Dennis Skelton.
Hilmer said later that vacation proposal was not retaliatory and has been brought up before.