Excerpts from cbsnews.com:
Members of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 unanimously voted Thursday that they have no-confidence in leadership at the Chicago Fire Department, after going nearly 3 ½ years without a new contract.
“The Paramedics and Firefighters of Chicago are tired of being ignored and mistreated as they continue to loyally serve the citizens of Chicago,” President Patrick Cleary wrote. “Within the last 2 years, Local 2 has had 4 separate firefighter deaths and at least 3 firefighters severely injured while working without a contract in need of drastic fire safety changes and training.”
The union said the department is understaffed, with as many as 35 fire trucks and fire engines operating with a crew of four firefighters, instead of the normal five. The union also has been demanding that the city add 20 more ambulances and the necessary paramedics and EMTs to staff them, claiming the current ambulance fleet is inadequate.
“In addition, our Members ride inside 20+ year old vehicles that are in deplorable shape and have had days when there were no operational apparatus available in the firehouse,” Cleary wrote.
Union leaders said working conditions at CFD have gotten so bad that burnout is at an all-time high, especially for paramedics because there are not enough of them to handle all the 911 calls for emergency medical services. In 2023, they said paramedics worked nearly 230,000 hours of overtime just to be able to staff the city’s 80 ambulances, and they are on the same pace for 2024.
They said hiring more paramedics needs to be the priority and they want a promise from the city written in a new union contract. They’re also demanding pay raises because salaries have been frozen since 2021, making it even harder to find new recruits to join the department.
A Chicago Fire Department spokesman declined to comment on the union’s no-confidence vote.
thanks Rob
