Burning sense of entitlement
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BOSTONIANS CAN only hope that the arbitrator now weighing proposals from the Menino administration and Boston Firefighters Local 718 will also take the city’s taxpayers under consideration. While families from East Boston to West Roxbury are gripping their wallets, it’s hardly time to shower firefighters with big pay hikes or perquisites.
Boston firefighters have squandered much of the public’s respect and admiration over the past few years by ignoring calls for reforms or demanding too much in return. The sense of entitlement remains sky-high. But Bostonians are getting better at balancing their emotions about a dangerous job with a rational assessment of the costs in the current economy. How can firefighters demand raises exceeding 20 percent over five years when taxpayers count themselves lucky just to be working at frozen or reduced salaries? The city is offering an 8.8 percent wage increase over three years.
Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser is controlling runaway overtime costs by closing some fire stations on a shift-by-shift basis, as long as nearby companies are available. Local 718 members responded predictably with hyperbolic claims about public safety risks. But the root of the problem is the union’s history of high rates of absenteeism, especially on weekends and throughout the warmer months. And Fraser isn’t going to stick taxpayers with a high bill for overtime to accommodate outbreaks of the summer sniffles. It’s preferable to close stations temporarily and strategically than to leave the door open for further payroll abuses.
This contract fight has dragged on for years and isn’t likely to be resolved by the end of 2009. But the outcome is more important than the timing at this point. Any contract worth endorsing should include mandatory drug and alcohol testing for firefighters. Substance abuse is a real and present danger in the Fire Department. And taxpayers shouldn’t have to dangle extra money in front of Local 718 to ensure a clean department. Many of Boston’s municipal unions already have agreed to wage packages that increase their members’ contribution for health insurance coverage from 10 to 15 percent. The firefighters haven’t. And they resist the city’s efforts to freeze longevity benefits that inflate salaries beyond reason. Firefighters are even loath to give up extra holiday pay for members who call in sick on the holiday.
Taxpayers need a holiday, too, from these overreaching firefighters.
