Pompano’s Firefighters – still no contract The firefighters and paramedics in Pompano Beach continue to serve the public – without a contract. By state law they are not allowed to strike, so they must remain on the job until their union can reach an agreement with the city. The most recent agreement became effective October 1, 2004, after ratification by both parties (City officials and Union representatives) and remained in full force and effect through and including September 30, 2007. When the contract expired on September 30, 2007, the terms of the old contract continued to prevail. The city needs to know where they stand so it can budget accordingly and the union needs to know where they are going because its members need to know what kind of raises they will be receiving. “There is no final agreement, although we think we are very close,” one of my City Hall contacts said. “And there is no COLA [cost of living adjustment] for FY 2007-08.” The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1549, under the old regime of Brian Schafer and his associates, did not come to the bargaining table until August 2007, even though the City wanted to begin early discussions. The City was being represented by Interim City Manager Phyllis Korab and her hired gun (and former wily city manager) C. William Hargett. Hargett was involved because of a personal contract which he engineered before his resignation took effect. Hargett’s deal was scheduled to expire on September 30th, and he was being paid $125 per hour to hammer out an agreement. Hargett had several reasons for wanting the early discussions. First, he needed to get started on potentially controversial items and get them resolved before his contract ran out. Second, he knew those issues would be troublesome, but he didn’t want to telegraph his position to the union. The union, however, under Brian Schafer, wasn’t especially anxious to start early discussions, especially with Hargett and also because they weren’t aware of what Hargett had in mind. So the union ignored Hargett’s requests for early meetings. At the end of August, the union believed there was sufficient time for negotiations, and Schafer began meeting with Hargett. Turned out Hargett had two major items the union didn’t want to hear about: terminating the DROP plan, and altering the grievance process. With the deadline looming, Keith Chadwell (Pompano’s new city manager) extended the agreement with Hargett through December 31st for consulting services related only to the negotiations with the Firefighters’ local. Meanwhile, the union went through an election, and the old Schafer regime was voted out by the rank and file, to be replaced by Jeff Valerga and a new union negotiating team. Talks pretty much went nowhere. Hargett’s new December 31st expiration date has passed, but Hargett has not. But the players at the bargaining table have changed, and perhaps the attitude at the table has changed as well. On the City’s side, hired gun Hargett is still in charge, assisted by Assistant City Attorney Erin Robles; Mike Smith, the City’s Director of Human Resources; and Eddie Beecher, Pompano’s Risk Manager. I attempted on seven occasions to contact Valerga without success. I talked with firefighters as to why he was doing the artful dodge. I was told he is inexperienced, unsophisticated and unsure of himself. With this contract in the public domain, he knows his reputation is on the line and he is concerned how he will be perceived in the public’s eye should negotiations fail. He also has the younger members to worry about – after all, they voted him in and John DeVoe and Brian Schafer out. The serious bones of contention remain – and there doesn’t seem to be any movement towards resolution. The main issue is the controversial Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), instituted more than a decade ago. This program allows a firefighter to serve honorably for a period of time and then retire. They can be brought back to serve a maximum of five additional years with maximum benefits being paid into the retirement system. According to Article 35 of the contract, the city agreed to continue the DROP plan in its current form for the duration of the agreement. The members of the union could serve for a specified period of time and until they reach a certain age and then retire with benefits. Upon retirement they are immediately rehired by the city – to perform the same job. It’s a great deal for the old heads – and a challenge for younger ones looking to move up. There were limitations and disqualifications to the DROP plan. A member may participate in the DROP only once. After commencement of participation, the member is not permitted to be a contributing member of the Retirement System. A member is eligible for disability retirement when the Pension Board makes a determination that an existing benefit should be reclassified as a disability benefit subject to Article 16 of the I.A.F.F. Local 1549 Collective Bargaining Agreement. It’s a bit complicated, but there are logical benefits to this plan. The benefits for the city are financial, but the plan also allows the city to tap into the experience of older firefighters. While a firefighter is in the DROP, the City makes no pension contributions – the City just pays salaries. It is also beneficial to have an employee who has worked his way up the ladder and/or has a lot of experience and knowledge in the field – and continues to work for the city for another five years. That’s seen as an advantage over the employee ‘retiring’ and going to work for another city or county.  As people are living longer and experience is needed in fields like fire administration, city managers, planning directors, etc., the national trend is to rehire retired experienced people. They have a lot to offer at 47 to 55 years of age. Just about every city in South Florida, including Pompano Beach, has hired individuals from other local cities who retired from high-ranking positions with 20 years experience and still want to work.  During the earlier part of 2007, it was a known fact that Schafer, former president of the union, continued to stir up the waters and trump this program to the younger fireman/paramedics, as a benefit not to be bargained away. Like many organizations, the Fire Department has coalesced into a couple sections, some comprising younger employees and some comprising older employees. Their interests and goals are not always the same. The older employees appreciate the opportunity to serve the community and the residents, while the younger ones see only themselves as the primary focus on the bargaining. It’s difficult to get a consensus and any deviation from the group’s line of thinking is considered a betrayal of the cause. Another serious factor is that most of the union negotiators do not like Hargett. They remember when he was the city manager and can recall his miserly ways when it came to salary increases – with the exception, of course, of his own City-Commission-authorized salary increases. I had the opportunity to discuss this matter with Chadwell early this month. He told me he didn’t believe that he should be at the bargaining table during this dispute. “I don’t believe it is the position of the CEO to sit at any bargaining table, with any union, negotiating any pay raises,” said Chadwell. “I would rather outsource that responsibility and maintain close contact with my bargaining agents.” I suggested to Chadwell that from what I had heard, the talks were at a stalemate and even probably at an impasse – like a hung jury. He disagreed with my assessment. “We are making progress at every meeting and I think your assessment is premature,” Chadwell said. “We definitely are not at an impasse.” Well, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I respect Chadwell, but Hargett’s contract has been extended for the second time, in early January, at the rate of $125 an hour and the negotiations have been ongoing now for more than six months – there has not been a contract since October 1st. I guess I will have to look up that word “impasse” in my Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Maybe the editors have altered, changed or amended the definition, without me being aware of any changes. City residents will remain protected because the union members still must do their duty. By the Agreement, the Union agreed there would be no strikes, picketing, slowdown, stoppages or concerted failure or refusal to perform assigned work by the employees covered by the Agreement, until a new agreement is reached. But there’s a consideration beyond the practical benefits of the no-strike rules. Like residents of many cities, most Pompano residents who have had any interaction with our firefighters ‘love’ them and believe they should be rewarded for the work they do and the risks they take. Those who are aware of the contract problem are uncomfortable with extended periods with no contract, mostly out of a sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. In the past, firefighters have gone to bat politically for some politicians running for office, because union leaders felt they would have some leverage when contract time rolled around. In that respect, the union was just like any other special interest group, ready to sell out residents if it benefited themselves. Sometimes they took the higher road and endorsed new candidates who actually had the best interests of the City and residents as their goal. When the firefighters have a contract, they are more likely to take the high road and play their politics like good citizens, so many of us are looking forward to a firefighters’ contract in the very near future – a contract that is fair to both sides. That, coupled with the union’s new leadership, could make (and keep) the union a good citizen of Pompano.