The Lincolnwood Review has an article about the Lincolnwood firefighters voting to unionize:
As the only fire department in Illinois managed by a private company, Lincolnwood’s Fire Department is also rare in that it has never been part of a union — up until now. After 24 years of being under private oversight, the Lincolnwood Fire Department today is still run by a private company that hires, fires, provides pensions and pay for the department’s 28 firefighters and paramedics.
But the fire department’s union-free days will soon be over, after Lincolnwood emergency personnel this week voted in favor of joining a union for the first time in the department’s history. A bargaining unit of 23 firefighters who voted on the decision Feb. 11 pushed the measure through with 15 supporting votes and eight opposed.
Lincolnwood emergency personnel will now begin negotiating a contract with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 5000. The Wilmette Fire Department is part of the same union.
The Village of Lincolnwood’s police and public works departments are unionized, as are most public sector police, fire and sanitation departments across the country …
The Village, which has been engaged in an ongoing contract with Paramedic Services of Illinois (PSI) since 1990 to handle all Fire Department-related personnel matters—won’t be affected by the unionization because it doesn’t handle pay, pensions and insurance. “Contracting with PSI is a more cost-effective means to provide these services, versus what most of our surrounding communities are paying for them,” Village Manager Tim Wiberg said during a Village Board meeting last year.
thanks Dan
