PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Firefighters have joined police officers in suing the city over budget cuts they say violate their bargaining rights and endanger city residents.
The firefighters' union filed suit Friday in Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg three weeks after Pittsburgh's police union filed a similar lawsuit over the city's financial recovery plan.
The plan, aimed at making up a projected $72 million budget shortfall in 2005, would cut 168 of 816 firefighter positions and close seven of its 35 fire stations. Firefighters also would see a 17 percent pay cut.
The firefighters, like the police, claim the plan violates their bargaining rights. The firefighters also claim the recovery plan was put together without examining how the cuts would affect public safety.
Officials with the state Department of Community and Economic Development, which has overseen recovery plans for Pittsburgh and 19 other cities, said the cuts are legal.
The plan, approved last month by Mayor Tom Murphy and City Council, calls for $33 million in spending cuts and $41 million in tax increases.
