St. Charles firefighters feel the heat of new deal

Twenty-eight part-time paramedics and firefighters will see their hours with the St. Charles Fire Department cut drastically under a new contract with the city's firefighters union.

The four-year pact, ratified Monday by the city council, contains a provision that over three years will reduce to zero the number of on-call part-timers allowed to fill in for union members on nights, weekends and holidays, although some will still be needed to take on other duties.

Fire Chief Patrick Mullen said the change is the result of new legislation that is backed by the state fire union and prohibits part-timers from substituting for union workers unless individual departments reach some other sort of arrangement with their unions. He said the city hoped to "maintain the status quo," but was able only to negotiate an incremental decrease in part-time offerings through 2011.

As a result, the city at some point will have to look at hiring additional full-time emergency responders who earn much more than their counterparts in salary and union benefits, he said.

"Paid on-calls are a huge economic boon for the city," Mullen said, referring to the part-timers. The new provision "pretty much negates for us the whole economic advantage."

No one from the union spoke publicly at Monday's city council meeting, but a small group of part-timers showed up to voice concerns.

"Without us, it's going to hurt," said Frank Crisci of St. Charles, a union electrician who has been a part-time local firefighter for seven years. "We're being forced out."

Crisci said most part-time firefighters earn $10 to $15 an hour, as opposed to the nearly $50,000 starting salary for full-timers. In addition to carrying around pagers and responding to calls as needed, many of the part-time employees work regular shifts in the absence of full-timers who might be out sick or on vacation.

The arrangement has existed in St. Charles for more than 35 years, he said, and is not only a cheap means of rounding out the schedule, but recruiting coming generations into the fire service. He added that, despite the new legislation, several other nearby towns have opted to keep similar structures in place.

"If you cannot afford us," Crisci told the city council, "we would be willing to ask for other options."

Aldermen David Richards, Ward 5, and Betsy Penny, Ward 2, appeared reluctant about the new contract. While Richards said the city's "hands are tied," Penny indicated she didn't want the new contract perceived as a reflection of part-timers' performance.

"That is not the problem," she said.