The Council vote goes against Mayor Nagin,
who opposed the 10 percent raise, and instead favored a
unilaterally instituted plan to boost annual starting pay for first-year
fire fighters only. The 10
percent increase, which would become effective September 1,
2006, must still be approved by the Civil Service
Commission.
“Local 632’s leadership is to be commended
for this recent victory,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger.
“I am proud of the grassroots lobbying and public awareness campaign efforts
that President Nick Felton and his members
initiated
to ensure safety and a
pay increase
for New Orleans fire fighters
who never left their posts through the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.”
Although Felton says the battle is not yet won, he admits, “I am so happy,
I'm beside myself – our
members deserve this and a whole lot more."
The City Council is also calling on the Nagin administration and the city's
Civil Service Commission to immediately study and recommend a pay plan that
would raise all city employees’ base pay to match
Southern regional averages.
Even with the bump in pay, the starting salary for fire fighters
in that city
would still be less than fast-food restaurant workers can earn in New
Orleans, according to Felton, who says the fire department is losing fire
fighters “at an alarming rate.” The city has fewer fire fighters than it did
before Katrina, leading to slower response times for available crews and
creating safety concerns both for fire fighters and the public.
In July, General President Schaitberger and
Felton met with Mayor Nagin and were successful in getting the mayor to sign
the city’s fire fighters’ contract that was initially negotiated in August
2005 – just before Hurricane Katrina. Local 632 unanimously ratified the
proposal in December 2005, but the agreement languished without Nagin’s
signature.
“We will not back down,” says Felton, even as
the Gulf Coast region braces for another potentially destructive hurricane –
Ernesto. “We’re taking the necessary steps to prepare, even with
insufficient resources and equipment.”
