| | Published February 26th, 2014
| Union Rallies Against MOFD Board
| | By Nick Marnell | | |
A loud, standing-room-only crowd of disgruntled firefighters punctuated its message to the Moraga-Orinda Fire District board of directors at the Feb. 19 district meeting: the rank and file are not happy with the direction of labor negotiations.
In January the board made its last, best and final offer to Local 1230 of the firefighters' union. The terms included a 9.5 percent pay cut for one year. The board declared an impasse; the union rejected the offer and has until Feb. 27 to request state-mandated fact finding.
MOFD union representative Mark DeWeese said that the board, not the firefighters, needs to be held accountable for its poor financial decisions. "We are the ones out in the street doing the work," he said. "If you don't support your workers, you are going to hurt your chances of having a successful organization."
"We don't deserve to be treated like this," said an emotional Tim Hill, MOFD engineer-paramedic.
Board president John Wyro assured the firefighters that nothing has been imposed and negotiations are ongoing. "Our goal is a sustainable fire district five years from now," he said. "We are available to talk at any time, about anything."
The most raucous ovation of the evening came after DeWeese blasted the terms of a self-administered pay cut requested by fire chief Stephen Healy.
In November, the board approved an employment contract for Healy at an annual salary of $220,000, more than $30,000 over the salary of his predecessor, Randall Bradley. At the meeting, Healy offered to amend his contract with a pay cut of 9.5 percent, the same reduction in salary offered to the firefighters.
"I appreciate your leadership on this," said director Fred Weil. "I take it to mean that you are prepared to do whatever else develops out of the negotiations or imposition with respect to the firefighters. On that basis I would vote to approve this." Healy said he understood that, at the will of the board, the term and the amount of the adjustment could change.
"The board is trying to market this agenda item as the same proposed pay cut they are threatening to impose on the firefighters," said DeWeese. "This move may deceive a casual member of the public, but the rank and file employees are able to put it in proper context." He explained that the 9.5 percent pay reduction that the board presented to the firefighters would lower their pay to 2 percent less than they made in 2006. The comparable base salary for Healy should be $169,000, he said.
DeWeese did acknowledge appreciation for Healy's gesture. "But he is about $30,000 short of putting (his salary reduction) on par with what he and the board are trying to force on the rest of us," he said.
The motion to amend Healy's contract passed 3-0; directors Alex Evans and Steve Anderson were absent.
Wyro later confirmed that the original negotiations with the chief were done in good faith. He said that one of the reasons for the chief's large pay increase was that Healy would be taking a hit in loss of overtime from his prior position as division chief. Wyro also insisted that the pay reduction amendment to Healy's contract was not a predetermined ploy.
"I can see how it might look that way, but that's definitely not the case," he said.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA