Florida Firefighters, Police Protest Contract Negotiations

Dec. 14, 2005
The union members are asking for a salary increase, plus health care and pension benefits.

Frustrated over pension cuts and salary, dozens of Coral Gables firefighters and police officers took their concerns to City Hall on Tuesday.

The city is in the midst of contract negotiations with the police, firefighters and general employee unions, but talks are not going well.

About 100 union members congregated at the commission hearing Tuesday and spoke to the commissioners who will have to approve the contracts negotiated by the city manager.

The union members are asking for a 5 percent salary increase for each of the three years of the contract, plus health care and pension benefits.

"All three unions of the city are at impasse, which means the city has basically walked away from the table from us in negotiating and has presented an unfair and completely unjustified contract," said Eugene Gibbons, of the Fraternal Order of Police.

The city said it has to watch cash dollars and draw a balance between services provided and cost to residents.

"We have not reached an agreement yet but we are not over with the negotiations," Mayor Don Slesnick said. "Things are getting a little bit uptight. There's angst being shown on both sides because we have some key issues that we're working on in these contracts. The employees have not expressed an interest in moving toward the city's position and the city has not expressed an interest in moving toward the employees' position."

If the two sides cannot reach an agreement by the end of the year, a special master's process will kick in after Jan. 1, NBC 6's Patricia Andreu reported. That's where a special master will make a ruling on the contract, which will then be sent to the commission for final approval.

Copyright 2005 by NBC6.net. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Firehouse, create an account today!