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Posts Tagged Oak Lawn FIre Department

Oak Lawn management continues to fight the firefighter’s union (more)

Mar 11

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 2 Comments

Excerpts from an editorial in the Chicagotribune.com written by Oak Lawn Village Manager Larry Deejten:

On Feb, 27, the Daily Southtown ran a story regarding Oak Lawn firefighters and a state board ruling that ordered back pay of $3.2 million with a 7 percent interest rate compounded. Respectfully, immediate clarification is needed for all your readers, not just Oak Lawn taxpayers.

Sadly, the Oak Lawn model of delivering fire-rescue services is broken, and the Oak Lawn fire union officials quoted in the article have resisted changes asked by management for a system that has not changed staffing protocol for 25 years. No industry in America could have survived that steadfast resistance to change without filing for bankruptcy.

The taxpayers of Oak Lawn through their mayor and trustees have not had a voice due to legislation signed by former Gov. Quinn after approval by a general assembly that gets sizable campaign contributions from the International and Illinois Firefighter Associations. One fire union alone donated over $450,000 in 2014. Structural and political impediments to change have been in place in spite of pleas from nearly every major Illinois town and the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association and the Illinois Municipal League.

Oak Lawn fire union representatives will bolster their stance on staffing by citing “workplace safety,” that “staffing needs are dictated by the teamwork nature of firefighters” and “increasing workload.”

Oak Lawn takes great pride in supporting its police and firefighters. More than 60 percent of the village’s main operating fund goes for public safety. Unfortunately, the fire union’s resistance to change is costing the village more than $2 million per year in state-mandated firefighter overtime, or more than $36,000 per firefighter.

Gov. Rauner has called for shared sacrifice to get our state economically competitive and fiscally strong again. Budgets need to be balanced and pensions funded at levels in line with the taxpayers who pay those benefits. It will take all parties working together to achieve that goal, and local elected officials must be given the tools to manage their operations.

In Oak Lawn’s case, surrounding communities use alternative models for providing fire-rescue services that work quite well at lower cost. Like any business striving to survive in a highly competitive and changing environment, “best practices” must be used.

Some key issues for consideration:

•Oak Lawn is not “0 for 7” in lawsuits filed against it by International Firefighters Union Local 3405. Oak Lawn respects the law but also its obligation to appeal decisions when deemed not to be in the public’s interest. There is changing political leadership over time and different judges, arbitrators and other officials who decide every case on its merit. In the back pay decision, a state employee seriously erred in directing the village to pay firefighters — who average $89,000 in wages — $3.2 million in back pay for work never performed and for no improvement to public safety.

•More than 70 percent of Oak Lawn firefighters neither live nor pay property tax in Oak Lawn. the union leader who was pictured and quoted in the Southtown story resides in Glen Ellyn, where the median household income is $87,904 as opposed to Oak Lawn’s $54,828 and the ability to pay for fire-rescue services is more than twice Oak Lawn’s households’ ability.

•Why not stop appealing decisions in favor of firefighters and just hire more firefighters to staff fire stations with 22 positions around the clock? The village has prudently avoided spending more than $3.6 million cumulatively since 2008 and will avoid further costs annually by not filling vacant positions and incurring overtime that’s a wasteful expenditure of taxpayer money. For every firefighter, Oak Lawn pays an average of more than $120,000 per year in pay and benefits and must account for an average pension that will be worth a total of $1 million. The financial impact of the ruling by the Illinois Labor Relations Board, if upheld, is not a one-time payment but carries a recurring cost of more than $600,000 per year compounded over time. In five years, another $3 million in unnecessary costs will be borne by Oak Lawn taxpayers.

•Is safety compromised by deploying fewer firefighters when their workload is increasing? Absolutely not. In technical terms, the utilization rate on a typical workday is low, and our fire Mutual Aid System accounts safely for non-typical days. Firefighters have a tough job, and our firefighters and paramedics do a fine job for our community. Fire Chief George Sheets is a well-respected professional and would never allow anything that puts either our residents or firefighters in harm’s way.

•Oak Lawn is blessed to belong to MABAS, one of the country’s top two fire mutual aid systems. We and 11 other communities work together to back up each other in times of major emergencies that require more resources. This system allows the village to bring in over 100 firefighting personnel to combat a large emergency situation.

In summary, the recent state board ruling is a setback, but we have a right to appeal and would be derelict in our duty if we did not do so. It’s hard to understand why a village the size of Oak Lawn would be forced to pay 74 firefighters $3.2 million in back pay plus interest for work that was never done. This amount is 21 percent of the village’s current property tax levy, and it has no funds to make that payment.

Oak Lawn is a fair employer with a workforce turnover rate far below industry standards nationwide. We are appealing the board’s ruling because we think it is unfair and incorrect. We hope all our employees would understand that.

For additional information and the village’s comprehensive statement, readers can go to http://www.oaklawn-il.gov/home/showdocument/id=4788, where wages for all village employees in 2014 are listed.

thanks Dan

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Editorial on Oak Lawn village leadership

Mar 7

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 1 Comment

An editorial at the OakLawnLeaf.com:

What kind of mistake would get you fired at work?

Most of us would say that if we caused our company to lose millions of dollars, we probably would be checking out the furnishings at the unemployment office. Perhaps, if we are related to the owner, we would just get moved from the corner office to the basement.

But, if you work for Oak Lawn in a top management spot and earn $200,000 a year in salary and benefits, you apparently don’t have to worry about mistakes that cost your bosses millions of dollars.

You see, Village Manager Larry Deetjen has cost the taxpayers $3.2 million dollars by starting and then continuing a fight with the Oak Lawn firefighters’ union over the issue of minimum manning. The village, which Deetjen was hired to serve as its top administrator, chose to violate a binding collectively bargained contract.

If you think you’ve heard that story before, you have, because this isn’t the first union contract that Deetjen summarily chose to ignore. He cost the village a couple of hundred thousand when he fired 20 union 911 dispatchers and the union filed an unfair labor practice charge. Oh well, it’s only money.

Of course it isn’t Deetjen’s money that he’s losing. He’s losing the taxpayers’ hard earned money. The taxpayers are the people who Mayor Sandra Bury and even Deetjen himself claim that they are protecting in their never ending battle with the firefighters.

Arbitrators and judges have told Deetjen and the Village Board that Deetjen’s strategy is WRONG. Yet, the Village Board continues to support running into the fire caused by Deetjen.

One Trustee, Robert Streit (Dist. 3) long ago abandoned Deetjen’s plan and has argued vehemently that his fellow board members should be asking questions instead of blinding nodding their heads “yes” like bobblehead dolls.

Bury and her allies counter the argument by blaming the union members and saying that they are protecting the taxpayers from bad decisions by the court. The problem with that argument is that the bad decisions were made by Deetjen.

Deetjen implies that the board shouldn’t have to listen to the judges and arbitrators because they aren’t Oak Lawn taxpayers or village board members. The seven arbitrators and judges who have ruled against the village were merely following the law. After seven losses in court, even the thickest skull on the village board should be able to realize that the village’s position is contrary to Illinois law.

Unfortunately, the taxpayers can’t vote Larry Deetjen out of office. He’s appointed and serves at the pleasure of the mayor and board of trustees.

Deetjen is fond of comparing public employees to the private sector, but in the private sector you don’t get away with wasting $3.2 million dollars. In fact, if he was running a private company, such a loss might cause the company to go bankrupt. But then again, it isn’t Deetjen’s money or the board members’ money. The loss falls squarely on the taxpayers and Mayor Bury acknowledges that the board may have to institute a special tax levy to pay for the mistake.

Yet, Deetjen recently told the Board of Trustees that his strategy was fiscally prudent. The board members’ heads bobbled up and down in blind agreement.

If you were to include the settlements with the dispatchers and the legal fees to pay a handful of law firms he has hand-picked, the number is closer to $4 million dollars.

Larry Deetjen should be held accountable for the loss of $4 million dollars. Perhaps, like attorneys, doctors and engineers, he has professional malpractice insurance. If so, the village should look into making a claim in order to protect the taxpayers.

Deetjen’s financial mistakes are adding up and it is time that the board take action and dismiss him as the village manager.

Voters can do their part too. Ask the candidates if they support retaining Larry Deetjen as the nanager. If a candidate says yes, you can eliminate that candidate from consideration. The village manager already has enough “yes” men.

thanks Dan

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Oak Lawn management continues to fight the fire firefighter’s union

Mar 6

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 4 Comments

Excerpts from the Oak Lawn Leaf:

The Oak Lawn Village Board voted 4-1 to hire Ben Gehrt, an attorney with a reputation of vigorously advocating for management in disputes with unions, to appeal the $3.2 million dollar arbitration award recently entered against the village in favor of the firefighters.

Gehrt, a partner with the law firm of Clark Baird Smith LLP, has represented governmental bodies in several disputes with labor. He represented the City of Rockford in a case against the Illinois Association of Firefighters and was able to reduce minimum manning staffing levels.

Minimum manning has been an issue of contention between Village Manager Larry Deetjen and the union members even though the labor contract between the parties states that minimum manning is set at 21 union members.

In the last legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law that states that minimum manning is a subject for collective bargaining. Oak Lawn, however, was already subject to minimum manning provisions in a contract it signed. Nonetheless, under Deetjen, the village decided to reinterpret the minimum manning provision.

In January of 2008, the Village of Oak Lawn shut down a squad unit when there were insufficient firefighters at work, [deciding] to shut down the unit rather than to pay overtime to firefighters that would have been called into work.

A few months later, the village board, at the recommendation of the village manager and the Finance Committee Chairman Tom Phelan, voted to eliminate six firefighter positions despite opposition from the union.

The union filed various successful actions against the village and the village responded, again at Deetjen’s suggestion, to not fill vacant positions when union members retired. At that time, Deetjen, without any public discussion with the Board of Trustees, began counting the battalion chief as one of the 21 members mandated by the minimum manning ruling.

Alex Olejniczak is the only trustee remaining on the village board that supported Deetjen’s actions in 2008 and still supports those efforts against the firefighters’ union. At a recent meeting he even questioned whether anyone receiving political contributions from the union or its members should be able to vote on the issue.

Former Mayor Dave Heilmann, Trustees Robert Streit and Carol Quinlan have long since stopped supporting Deetjen’s recommendations regarding the firefighters. Streit has continuously urged the current board to stop the litigation with the firefighters noting recently that the manager is 0 for 7 in the disputes.

“(Deetjen) has lost at the labor board, at arbitration, in the Appellate Court, in the Supreme Court, in a second arbitration hearing, in a compliance hearing and in Circuit Court”, said Streit. He said that the constant fighting with the union is counter productive and … has cost the village over $3.2 million dollars.

In 2011 the union filed an enforcement petition arguing that the Kravit decision setting the minimum manning at 21 was being violated by the village. On February 5, 2015, the compliance order was entered agreeing with the village and awarding back pay with interest. The total owed now to firefighters is $3.2 million dollars and interest continues to accrue at about $500,000 a year.

When Streit asked for a total amount of legal fees spent on the seven years of litigation with the firefighters, he was told that it is less than the $3.2 million dollars in the award. “Nobody else on the board seemed to care that we are spending millions on this litigation”, said Streit.

Mayor Sandra Bury and the current board majority have been previously criticized for “union busting” when they voted to privatize the 911 Dispatch Center and fire 20 union village employees.

thanks Dan

Also see this previous post

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As seen around … Oak Lawn

Feb 15

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene | 10 Comments

Oak Lawn Squad 1

Oak Lawn Squad 1. Josh Boyajian photo

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As seen around … Oak Lawn

Feb 1

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 5 Comments

This from Keith Grzadziel:

Oak Lawn Service 21

fire department pickup truck with snow plow

Keith Grzadziel photo

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As seen around … New Washington, IN

Jan 20

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | Comments off

This from Martin Nowak:

Found a former Oak Lawn ambulance in its new life. http://www.nwvfd.org/apparatus.html

new life for old ambulance

Former Oak Lawn ambulance now serving New Washington, IN. Frank Weglaski photo

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Oak Lawn chief supports hiring

Dec 6

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 12 Comments

The Oak Lawn Leaf has an article stating that the Oak Lawn fire chief supports hiring more firefighters:

Oak Lawn’s Fire Chief George Sheets appeared at a recent village budget hearing and told the mayor, manager and trustees that he supports the hiring of 16 additional firefighters in order to eliminate the $2.5 million dollars in overtime spent by the village every year as it has fought court orders regarding its contract with the firefighters union.

Sheets said that the hiring of the 16 firefighters/paramedics would resolve the issue of overtime for at least the next two years.  It is the first
time that any member of the administration has discussed the possibility of compromising on the stand developed over seven years ago by former Trustee Tom Phelan and implemented by Village Manager Larry Deetjen.

Sheets’ statement mimics the position outlined by [some trustees] who have noted that the administration continues to wage legal battles that it has already lost on the issue of minimum manning.

Deetjen, [the mayor and other trustees] have continued to attack the minimum manning provision in the contract instituted under the late Mayor Ernie Kolb. Those legal battles have proven to be futile with the administration’s efforts to reduce the number of firefighters being denied each time.

Under Village Manager Larry Deetjen’s recommendation and the village board’s support, the village has allowed the firefighter employees to be reduced from 100 to 72 over the years.  The firefighters have supported keeping the “minimum manning contract language” the same while the village agreed with the daily shift of 21 employees, it sought to add language stating that would have allowed the village to staff only three firefighters to an engine if staffing fell below 21 daily employees, “for any reason”.

The language was rejected by the union, which has battled over the issue of minimum manning and had to file an unfair labor practice. The Illinois Labor Relations Board ruled against the village and that decision was upheld by the Illinois Appellate Court in 2011.

The firemen have complained previously that the village is wasting millions of dollars in overtime pay as a result of its failure to hire new firefighters.  Mayor Sandra Bury has countered arguing that the minimum manning provision agreed to through the collective bargaining process was devastating to the village.

Trustee Robert Streit (Dist. 3) has previously denounced Mayor Sandra Bury’s attacks on the firefighters noting that the village was told its
position was wrong in 2011 and chose to continue to fight the issue, making it virtually impossible to negotiate any issues with the firefighters
union.  While Streit has claimed that he can’t support a position that the courts have consistently ruled against, other Trustees, such as Terry
Vorderer and Mike Carberry have made comments supporting the fight over minimum manning despite the court rulings.

At the budget meeting, no elected officials indicated whether they would support Chief Sheets’ recommendation.

thanks Dan

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Chicago Ridge to buy quint

Oct 30

Posted by Admin in New Apparatus Order | Comments off

The Reporteronline.net has an article about the new Chicago Ridge fire chief introducing a quint to Chicago Ridge as he did in Oak Lawn:

Chicago Ridge Fire Chief George Sheets promised to improve efficiencies when he took control of the department in July and he’s wasted little time working toward that goal. Sheets outlined a plan at Tuesday’s village board meeting designed to reduce by 50 percent the department’s vehicle maintenance budget by upgrading the fleet of trucks.

The department currently spends about $60,000 to maintain 11 vehicles … He maintains that figure is too high considering that the Oak Lawn Fire Department has a $50,000 maintenance budget for 18 vehicles. Sheets knows that first-hand because he also serves as fire chief in Oak Lawn.

Sheets called for Chicago Ridge officials to purchase a quintuple combination pumper, or quint, an apparatus that serves the dual purpose of an engine and ladder truck.

“It combines several vehicles into one,” said Sheets, who added that the truck features that latest technology tools used in firefighting.

The vehicle does not come cheap. Sheets estimated that a demo unit would cost the village about $650,000. But state or federal grants could help offset the cost, he said. The village board did not approve a purchase, as some trustees expressed a desire to see the quint up close. Sheets, however, was authorized to negotiate a deal for the truck with the manufacturer. The chief told the trustees that a 4 percent increase in the purchase price of a quint is expected soon. He added that demo models do not stay on the market for long because of the discounted price.

“We need to consolidate some of the apparatuses,” Sheets said. “It will make us more efficient. Vehicle maintenance costs can’t continue to escalate.” Specifically, Sheets proposed removing from the fleet an aerial truck and two pumper trucks, one that is badly rusted and requires significant repair. Sheets said he was offered $164,000 for the three trucks, but is holding out for more.

In September … after learning that the firefighters responded to 86 [false alarms] in 2013 [he] called for stiffer penalties and increasing fines 300 percent. He said that a village ordinance lacked the teeth to reduce false alarms. The ordinance required business owners to pay $25 for each false alarm beginning with the seventh call. The fee is now $100 beginning with the second false alarm, Sheets said.

Sheets also recommended an increase in the ambulance rate after realizing that the village’s rate was one of the lowest in the region. The fee had not been increased in six years.

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Multiple fatal MVA in Oak Lawn, 10-5-14

Oct 7

Posted by Admin in MVA | 5 Comments

A reader found this video from the scene of the accident in Oak Lawn that resulted in multiple fatalities:

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Oak Lawn Emergency Dispatch Center

Aug 20

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | Comments off

The Southtown Star has an article about the 9-1-1 Center in Oak Lawn that was recently privatized:

Oak Lawn trustees Bob Streit, 3rd, and Carol Quinlan, 5th, want an independent study of the performance of emergency dispatchers since their jobs were privatized in January, but Mayor Sandra Bury has rejected the idea. The two trustees said they have heard numerous complaints from residents regarding the work of the dispatchers since Oak Lawn contracted with Norcomm to run its 911 emergency call center.

The issue of how well the dispatchers were performing arose after Norcomm vice president Michael Tillman presented a certificate to the village at the meeting, thanking Oak Lawn for “continued commitment … to achieve excellence and success in the delivery of 911 emergency dispatch services.” Since the two-year contract began Jan. 22, Norcomm and the village “have successfully dispatched more than 100,000 calls for service,” Tillman said.

Streit then tried to question Tillman but was quickly silenced by Bury, who thanked Tillman for coming and adding, “I’m sure he’s able to be called.” That irked Streit, who told Bury he was a “little disappointed at how quickly you whisked out the representative from Norcomm.

“It was obviously well-staged, that he’d present a plaque and then run out the door before he would take questions,” Streit said. “I think public safety is the most important issue we have to address as board members. Since the outsourcing of the 911 center, there have been many questions raised about the quality of service our residents have received.”

Quinlan agreed, saying that in her seven previous years on the board, she had never received complaints about the emergency call center but is hearing them now. That drew a smattering of applause from the audience at the meeting.

Streit said there have been times when personnel failed to arrive for work, when a dispatcher had to work six straight 16-hour days and then was denied a planned vacation. “That telecommunicator quit. Is the board comfortable with that because I’m not,” he said.

Moments later, Desmond outlined a laundry list of complaints that he obtained from village records regarding dispatchers, dating to before Norcomm took over the 911 center. “I was shocked by some of the violations,” Desmond said, listing issues such as delay of ambulances, taking excessive sick days, inattention to duty, neglecting to dispatch police, being rude to callers and playing video games at work, to name a few.

“You have someone whipping the public up, and the (911 center) data does not bear that out. The former dispatchers were human, the current dispatchers are human,” Bury said.

Under Oak Lawn’s contract with Norcomm to provide 911 staffing at the call center, the two-year agreement can be extended three years if both parties agree. The agreement resulted in 20 dispatchers having to reapply for their jobs. Norcomm is to provide 23 full-time dispatchers at the 911 center. Under the agreement, Oak Lawn pays Norcomm $1.99 million for the first year of service. That increases to $2 million, $2.1 million, $2.2 million and $2.3 million from years two through five of the contract.

Oak Lawn’s center also serves the Burbank, Evergreen Park, Bridgeview, Bedford Park and Central Stickney towns or fire protection districts.

thanks Dan

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