Firefighters fired up over vote

WXIA TV

December 6, 2004

Reported by: Kay Flowers

Fired up over their call for equal pay, Atlanta firefighters marched on City Hall Monday as the Atlanta City Council considers their proposed salary increase.

The vote could overturn Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin’s recent decision to reject a 4 percent pay raise for City of Atlanta firefighters. The raise would equal the 4 percent pay hike Atlanta police officers received in their latest increase.

The city council first passed the parity initiative weeks ago as a $5 million line item to the city’s proposed 2005 budget. A few days later, Mayor Franklin vetoed the measure, demanding more conclusive evidence to support such a raise.

"This money belongs to the people of Atlanta and I have to be able to make recommendations that are founded on research and fact, not just what people think it is,” the mayor said.

City councilwoman Anne Fauver said, “The mayor, at the moment, is looking at parity with other fire departments and, metropolitan-wise, the firemen [in Atlanta], according to the mayor’s and CFO’s statistics, are paid at the same rate or very close to what other metropolitan firefighters are.”

Fauver added that the 4 percent raise will help Atlanta police compete nationally with other police departments.

Mayor Franklin’s 2005 budget allots a 1 percent raise for Atlanta firefighters and a 4 percent increase for Atlanta police. Mayor Franklin says her decision regarding the police department’s higher pay raise came after looking at a comparative study of Atlanta with police departments throughout the United States.

"Firefighters' turnover is under 1 percent. Police officers' turnover, because of the competition for them, trained, post-certified officers, sometimes is as high as 10 percent. We have to do something about retention," Franklin said.

After weeks of lobby Atlanta’s city officials on the steps of City Hall, the firefighters’ most recent efforts took them to the streets to lobby the citizens, themselves. On Sunday, more than 30 Atlanta firefighters handed out 14,000 flyers to people walking and driving through the Virginia-Highland area that asked them pressure the City Council to vote in their favor.

“We've been responding to citizens for 150 years, we want them to come to our help once,” said Atlanta Fire Capt. Keith Schumacher.

Firefighter Jim Daws said, "We're out here working in the council districts this weekend to ask our best supporters, the citizens, to contact their city council members and urge them to override the mayor's veto,"

Firefighters said they hoped thousands of phone calls from residents will swing enough votes in the city council to override the mayor.

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