Gencarella: RI Firefighters: Public Servants, Hardly Indentured Servants
Thursday, June 11, 2015
According to a recent WatchdogRI report, Rhode Islander taxpayers pay as much as double what taxpayers in comparable communities pay for fire protection. For years, the RI Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) has been sounding the alarm on the high cost of fire service in RI compared to other states. So what is driving that cost?
Can Two-Thirds of the Country Be Wrong?
Two-thirds of the nation’s fire companies are structured on a “3-platoon” basis that requires 3 firefighters serving duty in rotation to cover each position. But until recently, every Rhode Island community employed the “4-platoon” approach with 4 firefighters for each slot. As budgets shrink and benefit costs swell, municipalities in Rhode Island have run their departments closer to the minimum manning standards for their equipment, but this has meant if a firefighter is absent from any shift for sickness, leave, training, etc. that the department will have to call in a replacement on an overtime basis.
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Mayor Elorza had good command of the figures at this week’s hearings as a rare coalition of urban, suburban and exurban municipalities sought to defend their home rule authority to solve these excessive costs. Providence has a $9 million annual overtime bill, almost half their current structural deficit. But the cost of additional staffing to eliminate overtime, if they continue to run a 4-platoon rotation, is $12 million.
North Kingstown had similar problems, and studying how other municipalities outside Rhode Island organize fire protection, began bargaining 5 years ago to institute a 3-platoon schedule. After being rejected in collective bargaining and in binding arbitration, North Kingstown continued to the RI Supreme Court to vindicate the home rule power of setting the schedules for its local services. Wages remained part of collective bargaining so compensation for the new system, rather than its very establishment, had to be negotiated with the unions. The new contract following the court case will cut overtime in half and save $13 million over several years in a town less than a third the size of Providence.
The Question - what to pay for this arrangement that requires more standard scheduled hours of each firefighter, although these hours are served in 24 hour shifts so they actually work less shifts and have two days off for each day on? This structure averages 56 hours of duty a week compared to the present schedule of 42 hours. If firefighters are hourly workers, that is 33% more hours, but as with all on duty time, these hours are not spent solely in work but provide for sleeping, eating, recreation even shopping on duty. And firefighters are paid a salary to provide this platooned service.
Think of the army, you have to be there 24 hours a day, if we paid 24 hours a day even at some standard rate, never mind setting up an overtime regime, that expense alone could shortly consume the federal budget. Similarly, we don’t pay hourly for firefighting, there is a salary.
Precedent Is Already Set - They Will Be Paid More
Should the salary increase with the new schedule? By comparison to other jurisdictions with an eye toward municipal austerity the answer would be no. But this is a departure from the status quo in Rhode Island and to the contrary of firefighters suggesting they are being asked to accept the new schedule for nothing, towns have compromised in collective bargaining on wages with raises in the neighborhood of 20% phased in over several years.
Federal Labor Law Specifically Carves Out Exemption for Firefighters, Recognizing the Nuances of the 24 On Duty Shift
On top of this there is an automatic offer of modest predictable overtime pay that is the equivalent of a 15% pay increase to every firefighter who fulfills their scheduled shifts. Federal labor law, despite recognizing that firefighting is not traditional hourly employment, and expects 24 hour shifts to include at least 5 hours devoted to sleeping and more hours for meals, nonetheless, places a limit on the how far local management can go. The Fair Labor Standards Act provides that any hours “worked” beyond 53 in a week must be compensated as overtime. The 24 on 48 off schedule averages 56 hours a week, so any fire fighter with perfect attendance receives a 15% bonus in the form of overtime for those 3 hours. Together with the raises that have been typical, this more than compensates for the extra hours.
So firefighters get a stable schedule with fewer commutes and great time off that is lauded by their peers across the country who serve in this 3-platoon structure. They can earn close to or even slightly better than pro-rata increases in compensation continuing to make them some of America’s best paid firefighters. The cities save money because they cover the hours without hiring many more employees with costly benefits while still vastly cutting overtime.
Spreading the Wealth To All Firefighters
All of this was done in North Kingstown and Tiverton without layoffs! What is the magic? It appears that much of the overtime has been going to those with seniority to claim it, so the savings are going to show up in not having some firefighters in Providence collecting more in overtime than their base salaries, while all the firefighters are better compensated for the job!
The General Assembly Runs Interference In Local Management Authority
Now that you understand that, you must ask, why would the legislature insert itself into this success story and violate the principle of home rule on management of local departments? North Kingstown worked within the bargaining and legal system to demonstrate greatly improved public policy. But the legislature, following the notice that Providence would change its schedule, created hasty, last minute legislation to overturn these reforms (H6278 and S961) and to lock in the 42 hour schedule and require overtime for any hours on duty above that.
That such legislation could even be considered an embarrassment to a state that constantly balances its own budget by handing problems to municipalities while giving special interests like the firefighters’ unions the upper hand over local elected officials and perpetuating a legal system in which the taxpayers have no standing to intervene.
All For One and One For All
The Lieutenant Governor, Dan McKee, was a mayor and understands how the deck is stacked against the municipalities. He has helped to draw attention to the virtually unanimous objection of Rhode Island cities and towns to these bills. And the Governor, to her credit, is listening to municipal officials from across the state.
Common wisdom suggests the legislative leadership is in the pocket of the firefighters’ unions on this issue. This could be the most important vote of the session, more important than the pension settlement, the Pawtucket Red Sox, or whether or not we toll trucks.
Don’t give up on your legislators! Their phones should be ringing off the hook this week, as should the Governor’s. Their inboxes should be full from emails in objection to these bills. You need to do your part if you want to stop this crushing blow to our cities and towns.
Pam Gencarella is a member of OSTPA, a taxpayer advocacy organization in Rhode Island.
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