Hammond Firefighters Pay for Addressing Safety Concerns

HAMMOND, Ind. - Feb. 10, 2014 - PRLog -- February 7, 2014, HAMMOND, IN   –  Hammond Firefighters Local 556 voted yesterday to accept the new contract offered by the City which is being described as “disappointing” by Union members. Following safety studies conducted by IAFF, as well as the City of Hammond, it was determined that the previous contract did not provide for sufficient staffing per work shift, concluding that safety of both residents and firefighters could be compromised during a crisis. Local 556 presented this to the City, requesting their next contract increase the minimum personnel per shift from 37 to 42 (less than the 47 per shift concluded in the City’s study), leaving the rest of the contract to remain as satisfactory.

When the firefighters contract expired in January, 2014, the City imposed numerous arbitrary changes to the contract, outside of the personnel issue. Cuts in pension contributions, time off and uniform clothing allowance were among the items forced into the contract without any explanation or justification. Following the vote Thursday evening, Union President Ed Lomeli stated, “This has been a take it or leave it deal from the beginning. We were always hoping for a real negotiation, but the City never chose to participate. We still don’t know what prompted the cuts or why we weren’t allowed to make any recommendations ourselves.” During the weeks the firefighters worked without a contract, the cuts had already been implemeted.

The City (with cooperation from Local 556), recently received a Federal grant in excess of $900,000.00 earmarked for new hires, which did not change the City’s position on the cuts in the firefighters’ final contract. According to one firefighter, “As a member of Local 556, I keep hearing that this is just a financial decision... that it’s not personal. Then why won’t anyone explain to us what’s going on? We keep working to bring in more money, but nothing changes.” In addition to the grant, firefighters ardently supported the Mayor’s push of the recent County income tax in order to help Hammond offset expenses in the Fire Department.

The firefighters final contract reflects an increase of minimum personnel per shift from 37 to 40. The contract expires December 31, 2016.