Panel OKs Drug Tests for Boston FFs

BOSTON -- An arbitrator decided Monday night that Boston firefighters will receive a hefty raise and that they must agree to random drug and alcohol testing. Nearly three years after a fatal fire touched off a bitter contract dispute between the Boston Firefighters Union and the city, a deal is all but done.

Source

April 20, 2010

2 min read

BOSTON --

An arbitrator decided Monday night that Boston firefighters will receive a hefty raise and that they must agree to random drug and alcohol testing.

Nearly three years after a fatal fire touched off a bitter contract dispute between the Boston Firefighters Union and the city, a deal is all but done.

The deal reached Monday night received a scathing review from Mayor Tom Menino. The key issue has been random drug testing, and what, if anything, firefighters would get in exchange for agreeing to it, a question that an arbitrator has settled.

Two Boston firefighters were killed in an August 2007 fire that tore through a restaurant in West Roxbury. Autopsies showed one firefighter had traces of cocaine in his system and the other was legally drunk. the

Over the next three years, Menino's call for random drug testing stalled contract talks.

Boston Firefighter Warren Payne, (left), Firefighter Paul Cahill (right)

"I've told the mayor to his face, on television, radio and elsewhere, Boston firefighters are committed to doing random drug testing. We just want a fair policy for our members," union President Ed Kelly said in September.

The arbitrator decided Monday night that firefighters must agree to random drug and alcohol testing, and they will get a 19 percent raise over four years -- substantially more than what other city unions have received.

The raise could cause problems for the mayor as he negotiates future deals with police and teachers.

Menino said Monday night, "I am required by law to support this award ... I am not, however, bound to stay silent on the facts ... This award will cost taxpayers an additional estimated $74 million."

The mayor said he will submit the award to the City Council on Tuesday. The Boston Firefighter's Union issued its own statement, pointing out that it was the mayor's decision to go to arbitration. The union said it is ready to move on.