Firefighters, the union and angry faces -- Wilkes-Barre Now! II

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 18:10:17 06/19/04 Sat
Author: Harry T. McCarthy
Subject: Firefighters, the union and angry faces

I'm going to say a few things here that might piss off my union firefighter brothers. And maybe even the Leighton supporters. But most of us are angry at the administration for a variety of reasons. Some personal, some financial and some ideological.

As firefighters we know that none of us are going to get rich doing this for a living. Anyone who enters this occupation believing differently should have his head examined. But we are paid adequately, and in my own opinion it wouldn't really bother me to not get a raise for a couple of years. I suspect most of my brothers feel the same way.

So we accepted a contract that limits the financial burden to the city by suspending a raise and adds increased co-pays to our health insurance. Most of us feel that we were duped into believing that this contribution to the city would help hold off an Act 47 scenario (which isn't good for anybody) and keep firehouses open and staffed. It seemed the right thing to do regardless of the fact that we didn't cause the city's financial woes.

You see, the more houses that remain open and staffed properly translates to better public safety. And more selfishly, better firefighter safety. And you know we all want to go home in one piece at the end of our shift.

So our give back was rewarded with a deconstruction of a great public service. Engines are gone that will never return, coverage areas are unclear, and we're told to expect more changes. Now the kicker is that we all know and respect our Fire Chief, Jake Lisman. He's an educated man who always looked out for the well being of the men in his command and stressed training and safety. With that said it's hard to believe this nonsense could come from such a man. It smacks of the bean counter yes men of the previous administration who thought they had a leg up on reality. Many of whom are still serving in the same capacity they were under McHitler. Could such poor planing be nothing more than coincidence?

So can anyone out there tell me we shouldn't be angry? That we shouldn't have menacing looking faces? That we shouldn't be distrustful? I'd be happy to hear alternative opinions providing they ring common sense.

Harry McCarthy

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Re: Firefighters, the union and angry faces -- Most sense I have heard in a long, long time, 23:58:21 06/19/04 Sat