Cooling things down

Sunday, April 18, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

For some time now, the squabble between Clark County and its firefighters union has been growing, which could have been expected. The union contract, which expires this summer, is being renegotiated.

The county has pressed the union for concessions as it grapples with a projected $57 million shortfall this year. The union has rebuffed those calls. And recently, the discussions surrounding the negotiations have taken on an ugly tenor.

The union complained that County Commissioner Steve Sisolak was violating the ground rules for the negotiation by speaking out publicly about the firefighters contract and threatened legal action. Sisolak was also threatened by a firefighter after he questioned the union contract, the use of overtime and the practice of doing charity work on the clock.

The fact that a commissioner was threatened is unconscionable. That should have been a sign that the union needed to calm down. Instead, the union is riled again, this time at the county’s plan to cut overtime, which has mushroomed at the fire department.

As Joe Schoenmann reported in Friday’s Las Vegas Sun, the county says there are more than 20 fire engineers who will be eligible for promotion or retirement within the next year, as well as five open engineer positions. If it doesn’t hire more engineers, the county says overtime will grow. Having fewer engineers means paying more overtime to fill shifts when an engineer has a day off.

So county officials want to test firefighters who want to be promoted this year. The union has objected. The contract calls for the engineer test only in odd-numbered years. In an e-mail, Ryan Beaman, president of the county firefighters union, said the reason for testing every other year is to give the firefighters a clear schedule, so they have time to prepare and meet qualifications.

County officials complained that the union is not cooperating with attempts to balance the budget. The county expects to cut overtime by 11 percent this year, but the fire department’s overtime is expected to rise 6.2 percent to $15 million. Commission Chairman Rory Reid said he was “dumbfounded” at the union’s stance, considering it has said that it doesn’t have any control over overtime. Now, county leaders say, the union does have control and can help by agreeing to this plan.

Rusty McAllister, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Nevada, said that the union’s position is sound and that if the county wanted to test this year, it should have put it in the contract. Or, he said, it can negotiate and “barter” for the right to test this year.

But the county’s plan to promote firefighters is reasonable. It would cut overtime. The firefighters would still have their lucrative contract and generous benefits that are unheard of in the private sector.

Considering that North Las Vegas plans to lay off firefighters, the county firefighters have it good. The union should start working with the county and find ways to cut costs.