By Josh Jarman
The Columbus Dispatch
NEWARK, Ohio — City officials said they hope to restart negotiations over a new contract with the city’s firefighters union, after union members this week overwhelmingly rejected the recommendations of a fact-finder’s report.
David McElfresh, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 109, said the members were concerned about the loss of minimum-staffing guarantees in the current three-year contract that ensure that 19 firefighters will be on duty at all times and at least three firefighters will assigned to a fire engine.
He said the recommendation to do away with minimum staffing, a provision the city had hoped to secure as a cost-saving measure, put the safety of firefighters in jeopardy and could result in the closing of a fire station. He said the department would rather have four firefighters per engine, which national studies show is more effective for fighting fires.
“We’ve agreed to run with three for years to meet the city’s budget requirements,” McElfresh said.
Donna Sears, the city’s human resources director, said city officials would like to sit down with the union once more before moving to binding arbitration. She expects the city and union to set a date for sometime next week.
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