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Chicago firefighters and paramedics will march down Michigan Avenue during an action-packed NASCAR weekend to press their three-year demand for a new contract that includes adding 20 more ambulances, their union president said Thursday.
Pat Cleary, president of Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2, predicted that “hundreds” of his members would participate in the two-hour march “right next to NASCAR,” from Roosevelt to Madison and back, beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 6.
They will be joined by Chicago police officers furious at Mayor Brandon Johnson for convincing the City Council to twice reject an independent arbiter’s ruling on police discipline.
A similar march is planned during the Democratic National Convention “as close as possible to the United Center,” where delegates will gather Aug. 14-19 to celebrate President Joe Biden’s nomination for a second term, Cleary said. Local 2 has permission for the first march, but has not yet applied for a permit for the DNC march.
A public display of discontent during two events that showcase Chicago on the international stage would be a major embarrassment for Johnson, though Cleary said that is not the goal.
Instead, he wants to demand attention and “respect” from Johnson, a former teacher and paid organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, who has managed to alienate two of the city’s largest unions in less than 16 months.
“We are united because we are both angry about all of this… That is the purpose of this: to show how unhappy we are… I don’t think public safety workers should be demonized,” Cleary said.
“I have no personal problems with the mayor. …He is one of us. He is a union organizer. He knows how we feel. He knows we want a contract. Treat us fairly,” Cleary added. “Show us some respect. …We worked through COVID. We all went to the fire station every day. And now here we are. No salary increases (for three years). Without contract. “
Although Local 2 has a contract clause requiring Johnson to match the 5% annual raise he gave CPD officers, Cleary said City Hall “has offered us less,” which he called a “slap in the face.” ”.
Jim Franczek, the city’s top labor negotiator, could not be reached for comment on the move.
John Roberson, the city’s chief operating officer, said he “hadn’t read any of that” about firefighters’ three-year wait for a new contract.
In addition to demanding 20 more ambulances, for a total of 100, Local 2 also wants at least a partial lifting of the long-standing rule requiring firefighters and paramedics to live in Chicago, like all other city employees.
But Roberson was unfazed by a possible public display of discontent.
“They are organized workers. They have the ability to express themselves, using their First Amendment right just like anyone else,” Roberson said.
He also disputed Cleary’s claim that Johnson is “speeding up” negotiations with Local 2 by meeting only once a month.
“If it’s been three years and the mayor has only been in office for a year, I don’t think it’s a question of him moving slowly,” Roberson said.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel added five more ambulances, for a total of 80. On Thursday, Cleary argued that Chicago desperately needs 20 more, along with more paramedics to staff the new ambulances and reduce the paramedics’ grueling workload. existing.
Houston and Los Angeles have “between 30 and 40 more ambulances” than Chicago, he said.
Often, there are no ambulances available because “every ambulance in the city is running,” Cleary said.
“It happens every day. That is why they send the engines and trucks on these routes to cover until someone can arrive,” he added. “They need to hire more doctors. …They are overworked. They do 20, 25, 30 runs a day. …It’s dangerous for your mental health. It is dangerous for the public because there are tired and exhausted employees treating people medically. And not only that: they drive an ambulance. … You’re going to have accidents. “
Emanuel had been close to a new contract for firefighters that made concessions on health care while modifying the requirement that each piece of fire apparatus have at least five employees. But time ran out on Emanuel’s second term before the deal was closed.
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot agreed to a one-year contract. It included $95 million in back wages but nearly doubled employees’ health care contributions. That agreement expired in June 2021.
Cleary declined to disclose the cost reductions Johnson is seeking, saying only that the mayor wants to increase the number of times a day a fire apparatus can be operated with fewer than the minimum five employees.
“They continue to weaken us and make our jobs more and more insecure,” Cleary said. “If they take away my staff, they will make our work more difficult. Think of us entering a tall building. We have to climb 20 flights of stairs. Now I’m forcing four guys to carry the equipment that five guys should be carrying. That is wrong.”
The residency rule was imposed by former Mayor Richard J. Daley to stabilize the city’s tax base. Periodic demands to lift it have been met with a stone wall of opposition from the City Council.
Cleary acknowledged that changing the residency rules is an uphill battle, but he would at least like to “move forward.”
“Maybe after 20 years you can move. … I would like to get anything to have a starting point,” she said.
“I know a lot of people don’t want to live in the city because of crime, because they think the public schools aren’t very good… They’re sick of it. You see so much crime every day. “They don’t want to live in that city anymore.”
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