TheeBadOne
Member
Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston Globe
September 17, 2003, Wednesday
SICK DAY ABUSES FOCUS OF FIRE TALKS
Boston opened contract talks with its firefighters yesterday with a vow to change a new sick leave benefit that has been a huge financial drain on the fire department.
Fire Commissioner Paul A. Christian said yesterday the sick leave issue is "certainly going to be a major component of the new contract."
He noted that 103 firefighters called in sick over the Labor Day weekend, fewer than the 137 who missed shifts during the Fourth of July weekend but much more than his target, which is no more than 20 absences a day.
"From my analysis, it seems to vary by the day of the week," he said. "What that says to me is that firefighters are using these on weekends to attend family events."
Nearly all the city's 17,000 workers are working without contracts, and Boston officials are eager to wrap up the talks before next summer's Democratic National Convention.
In other negotiations, talks between the city and the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association will resume today at City Hall after a four-month hiatus. The police contract expired summer 2002.
Nick DiMarino, who heads Boston Firefighters Local 718, described yesterday's opening session as "friendly" but said that "from the union's point of view, we don't think there is a problem with sick leave."
In the current firefighters' contract, signed in the fall of 2001, firefighters get 15 paid sick days a year, like other city employees. In the past, firefighters were allowed an unspecified number of sick days. After the contract was signed, days that firefighters were out sick increased from 6,432 in 2001 to 13,431 in 2002.
The department typically pays overtime to off-duty firefighters to cover the shifts of those who call in sick, who also receive their full pay. As the number of sick days taken increased, overtime expenses have climbed: The department exceeded its roughly $8.2 million overtime budget in fiscal 2003, which ended in June, by more than $4 million.
Two weeks ago, Christian suspended seven firefighters without pay for taking at least 15 sick days in a year that they could not prove were taken for medical reasons. Since last summer, Christian has suspended 25 firefighters for what he views as sick leave abuse. "If we found out you took seven Saturdays and eight Sundays, that's a bad sign," he said.
DiMarino said most firefighters are using the new sick leave benefit, not abusing it. The real problem, he said, is that the city did not set aside enough money to pay for the sick leave benefit. The union has filed grievances challenging Christian's suspensions.
"I understand the commissioner's concerns and I respect him immensely, but from what I know he's not a medical doctor," DiMarino said.
Christian said his tough line on sick days has led to a decline in the number of absences. As a result, he has suspended "brown outs" of selected companies, which began in July. Under that policy, the department shut down a handful of companies when the firefighting ranks were depleted by absences instead of paying overtime to replacements.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/wpublish...gId=34&topicId=17906&docId=l:50293279&start=4
------------------------------------------------------------------
WoW!
The Boston Globe
September 17, 2003, Wednesday
SICK DAY ABUSES FOCUS OF FIRE TALKS
Boston opened contract talks with its firefighters yesterday with a vow to change a new sick leave benefit that has been a huge financial drain on the fire department.
Fire Commissioner Paul A. Christian said yesterday the sick leave issue is "certainly going to be a major component of the new contract."
He noted that 103 firefighters called in sick over the Labor Day weekend, fewer than the 137 who missed shifts during the Fourth of July weekend but much more than his target, which is no more than 20 absences a day.
"From my analysis, it seems to vary by the day of the week," he said. "What that says to me is that firefighters are using these on weekends to attend family events."
Nearly all the city's 17,000 workers are working without contracts, and Boston officials are eager to wrap up the talks before next summer's Democratic National Convention.
In other negotiations, talks between the city and the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association will resume today at City Hall after a four-month hiatus. The police contract expired summer 2002.
Nick DiMarino, who heads Boston Firefighters Local 718, described yesterday's opening session as "friendly" but said that "from the union's point of view, we don't think there is a problem with sick leave."
In the current firefighters' contract, signed in the fall of 2001, firefighters get 15 paid sick days a year, like other city employees. In the past, firefighters were allowed an unspecified number of sick days. After the contract was signed, days that firefighters were out sick increased from 6,432 in 2001 to 13,431 in 2002.
The department typically pays overtime to off-duty firefighters to cover the shifts of those who call in sick, who also receive their full pay. As the number of sick days taken increased, overtime expenses have climbed: The department exceeded its roughly $8.2 million overtime budget in fiscal 2003, which ended in June, by more than $4 million.
Two weeks ago, Christian suspended seven firefighters without pay for taking at least 15 sick days in a year that they could not prove were taken for medical reasons. Since last summer, Christian has suspended 25 firefighters for what he views as sick leave abuse. "If we found out you took seven Saturdays and eight Sundays, that's a bad sign," he said.
DiMarino said most firefighters are using the new sick leave benefit, not abusing it. The real problem, he said, is that the city did not set aside enough money to pay for the sick leave benefit. The union has filed grievances challenging Christian's suspensions.
"I understand the commissioner's concerns and I respect him immensely, but from what I know he's not a medical doctor," DiMarino said.
Christian said his tough line on sick days has led to a decline in the number of absences. As a result, he has suspended "brown outs" of selected companies, which began in July. Under that policy, the department shut down a handful of companies when the firefighting ranks were depleted by absences instead of paying overtime to replacements.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/wpublish...gId=34&topicId=17906&docId=l:50293279&start=4
------------------------------------------------------------------
WoW!
