Stockton firefighters have swallowed a bitter financial pill.
It did not go down easy and everyone knows this will not completely cure what ails Stockton. But everyone – including city firefighters – knew this had to be done.
The fact that of the approximately 155 firefighters a 2-to-1 margin agreed to deep cuts shows a commitment to public service and an understanding of the economic reality.
The City Council twice in as many years declared financial emergencies as city revenues collapsed.
The firefighters, of course, are banking the hope that when times get better for the city, their sacrifice will not be forgotten.
And that sacrifice: firefighters will go home with about 15 percent less. Under the deal, firefighters will now have to pay 9 percent toward their retirement; they’ve lost extra pay for things such as higher education; and, like all city employees, firefighters will now shoulder a greater part of their health care costs.
The new contract saves the city $9 million a year. Staffing cuts – 36 firefighters were laid off – that shuttered some operations and reduced from four to three the number of firefighters on each engine are expected to save the city an additional $9.5 million.
The contract, which expires at the end of next June, also says that firefighters will not be able to cash out as much unused vacation time. They’ll receive $600 a year – half the previous compensation – for work clothes they need. The retirement age for new firefighters rises to 55 and newly hired firefighters won’t receive medical benefits in retirement.
It took months of tough, sometimes bitter, negotiations to reach a deal. The Stockton Professional Firefighters Local 456, as it should have, worked hard to protect the interests of its members. City negotiators worked hard to protect the interest of Stockton residents.
In the end, those two sometimes divergent interests merged in a contract that does about as well as could be expected for both sides.
"There’s no gold at the end of the rainbow," said Fire Capt. Dave Macedo, president of the firefighters’ union. "The city’s still in this financial situation."
That statement shows the evolution in union thinking that emerged over the months. There was a time when various city union representatives were accusing the city of hiding assets, essentially lying about the dire condition of Stockton’s finances.
Everybody now knows better, or at least should. Everybody now knows, or at least should, that we’re all in this together and that the only way out is to work together and sacrifice together.
The firefighters, as we always believed they would in the end, did their part, sacrificed and continued to provide prideful, professional service to city residents
