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Unions blocked reforms that could have stopped fire closures, mayor says

Rawlings-Blake says the unions spurned her offers to raise wages and potentially prevent company closures.

Above: Mayor Rawlings-Blake speaks at a press conference today.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake took to the airwaves today to defend both the salary hike of Fire Department Chief James Clack and the closing of three fire companies, blaming the firefighters’ unions for resisting needed work reforms.

The unions could have “potentially prevented” the closing of the fire companies – as well as allowed members to get a 20% wage increase over three years – if they had agreed to a radical change in work hours proposed by Chief Clack during recent contract negotiations, the mayor said.

“If they were being totally honest, they would have talked about the fact that we tried to negotiate a contract with them that would have given them a 20% increase in salary,” Rawlings-Blake said this morning on the 98 Rock Show with Mickey, Amelia & Spiegel.

“It would have required them to change their work schedule and they weren’t willing to do it,” she added. (Full audio link to the show at 97.9 FM.)

The mayor took up the same theme in a televised City Hall press conference later in the day, saying the Clack proposal would have “saved the city money over the long term and potentially prevented the company closures.”

Michael Campbell, president of Fire Officers Local 964, called the mayor’s remarks “only a part of the story.” He said the unions were told by a top mayoral aide during the talks that even if they accepted longer work hours, the administration would not guarantee that some fire companies would not be closed.

The unions rejected the proposal and instead agreed to a one-year contract that included no wage increases.

Big Hike in Hours

Campbell said that Clack proposed that city firefighters move from a four-shift to three-shift system. This would have increased average weekly hours to 56 hours from 42 hours, a 33% jump.

Included in the proposal were 24-hour shifts, with fire crews working 24 hours on and 24 hours off over a six-day period, followed by a three-day “weekend.” Currently, firefighters work on two 10-hour day shifts and two 14-hour night shifts, followed by four days off.

Acknowledging that similar hours are deployed in Minneapolis, where Clack was formerly the fire chief, Campbell said four shifts were prevalent in the Northeast because of the congestion and age of the cities. Baltimore County, for example, follows the city’s four-shift practice in a contract that extends to 2014, he said.

Kevin Cartwright, spokesman for Chief Clack, did not respond to questions about the proposed work schedule change or the contract talks.

Contract Talks Revealed

The introduction of the heretofore-secret negotiations by Rawlings-Blake was apparently aimed at redirecting political heat to the unions, whose top leaders denounced the 18% salary increase for Chief Clack at a Board of Estimates meeting today.

Following the critical statements by Campbell and Fire Fighters Local 734 President Rick Hoffman, Mayor Rawlings-Blake praised Clack for making “great progress,” noting that the city recorded in 2011 the lowest number of fire deaths in over 70 years.

The mayor and her two appointees on the board approved a new six-year contract for Chief Clack, which included the salary increases, over the objections of City Comptroller Joan Pratt and City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young.

Fire Fighters Local President Michael Campbell denounces the salary increase going to Fire Chief Clack at the Board of Estimates today. Left to right: City Comptroller Pratt, City Council President Young, and Mayor Rawlings-Blake. (Photo by Mark Reutter)

Fire Officers President Michael Campbell denounces the salary increase for Fire Chief Clack at the Board of Estimates. Left to right: City Comptroller Pratt, City Council President Young, and Mayor Rawlings-Blake. (Photo by Mark Reutter)

Pratt asked why Clack’s prior contract had based his salary raises on increases negotiated by the union for all fire officers, but the new contract will increase his salary automatically every year.

She also wondered why his salary in January 2016 would undergo an 8% bump from $171,133 to $185,000. Neither question was answered by administration officials.

Chief Clack and other members of his staff did not appear before the board.

P.R. Nightmare?

In her telephone interview from City Hall with 98 Rock, Rawlings-Blake was asked whether the disclosure that Clack was due for a salary raise while fire companies were being closed “is a little bit of a p.r. nightmare.”

The mayor replied: “I think that we had the lowest deaths since 1938 is not a p.r. nightmare. When I came into office, there were five rotating closures a day. We reduced it down to three. Now we are able to end it [and] to make sure we have predictability and ability to use our CAD System, our Computer-Aided Deployment System, to make sure we use our resources to the best of our ability.

“I don’t think that’s a p.r. nightmare. I’m proud of the work that Chief Clack has done. I am proud of the work my firefighters have done. We’re promoting safety. Chief Clack fought for funding to get these 10-year-battery smoke detectors into people’s homes. We’re doing more outreach. And we’re saving people’s lives. And that’s not a p.r. nightmare.”

“I Can’t Depend on the Media”

“Have you been mentioning” the union’s rejection of the 20% pay increase “in your conversations with the media?” the mayor was asked.

Rawlings-Blake said, “We’ve brought it up, but let me just say, they cover what they want to cover. I mean, half the media was telling people I was closing actual fire stations when we were just moving equipment around. So I can’t depend on the media to carry the message.”

Full disclosure: When The Brew broke the story on Chief Clack’s new contract and salary raises on Monday, we e-mailed the mayor’s press officers, Ryan O’Doherty and Ian Brennan, asking for comment. They did not respond.

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