Keyser Sose
05-05-2008, 12:57 PM
My respect for Boston Firefighters Union
By Jeff Jacoby
Globe Columnist / May 4, 2008
WHAT DO you see when you look at the Boston Firefighters Union?
City officials blast firefighters over pension abuse allegations
Do you see brazen greed and naked contempt for the taxpayer? That's what I
used to see too. But maybe we've been too hard on the firefighters. Maybe
what we've perceived for so long as avarice and arrogance is really a style
of self-help that the rest of us should emulate.
I used to look at the Fire Department and see a culture of corruption and
rip-offs. I used to find it infuriating that unethical firefighters would so
brazenly misuse sick leave, or file bogus disability claims, or, as recent
evidence suggests, cheat on a civil service exam. I thought it was
especially disgusting that even after two firefighters died last year with
intoxicants in their system - autopsies found that one was drunk and the
other had used cocaine - the union vehemently insisted that it would agree
to random drug testing only, to quote spokesman Scott Salman, "if it were a
contractual thing, if it were more money." I was appalled when the union
stuck to that demand - more money! - even after it transpired that a dozen
firefighters had been kicked off the force for substance abuse and scores
more ordered into treatment programs because they seemed drunk or stoned on
the job.
But in the wake of last week's raucous firefighters rally at the State
House, I'm changing my attitude about their attitude. Did you see the rally?
There were hundreds of firefighters, marching up from the Common in their
red union T-shirts and chanting: "What do we want? Respect! When do we want
it? Now!" And there was Robert McCarthy, president of the Professional
Firefighters of Massachusetts, bellowing, "We're not dogs! We won't be
treated like dogs!"
Well, how can you argue with that?
Boston firefighters earned an average of $92,756 in 2006 - $103,817 if
health benefits are included. According to the Boston Municipal Research
Bureau, 55 percent of the city's firefighters have a compensation package
worth $100,000 or more. You call that respect?
And that doesn't include pension benefits: According to the research bureau,
the average pension for a retiring firefighter is nearly $67,000 a year. And
if he retires on a disability claim, he gets it tax-free. (Would you believe
that nearly 75 percent of all Fire Department retirements in recent years
have been based on "disabilities?" Probably just a coincidence.)
So you can see why the firefighters bristle at being treated like "dogs" -
can't you? And you can understand why Firefighters Local 718 and its
president Ed Kelly will be damned if they'll agree to drug testing without
first getting their paychecks beefed up. What's more important, after all -
making sure that first responders with life-and-death responsibilities stay
sober? Or crossing their palms with extra silver?
There's no denying the Boston Fire Department has been earning plenty of bad
press lately. One firefighter was arrested for illegally buying OxyContin
from a known drug dealer in public; another was caught allegedly smoking
marijuana in a Boston Fire Department vehicle. Federal prosecutors have just
launched a grand-jury probe into what looks like rampant pension fraud and
disability abuse by Boston firefighters. Police have been ordered to guard
Fire Department headquarters to ensure that firefighters don't steal or
tamper with documents subpoenaed by the FBI.
Not a pretty picture. But the more I think about it, the more I wonder
whether the rest of us shouldn't take a page from the firefighters'
playbook. Let's all refuse to do our jobs properly unless we're paid extra
to do so. UPS wants its drivers to obey traffic laws? Pay up! Massachusetts
General Hospital expects doctors and nurses to protect patients' privacy?
Show 'em the money! Schools want to ban teachers from improper contact with
students? Give 'em a raise!
Preposterous? Yes - but no more so than firefighters demanding a reward
before they'll agree to random drug testing.
No one is forced to become a firefighter. Those who choose to do so are
entitled to be paid for the dangers they bravely face. They're not entitled
to be paid for agreeing not to endanger others. Insisting otherwise makes
the union look ridiculous. If the union really wants more "respect," it
might consider showing some for the rest of us.
Jeff Jacoby can be reached at jacoby@globe.com.
By Jeff Jacoby
Globe Columnist / May 4, 2008
WHAT DO you see when you look at the Boston Firefighters Union?
City officials blast firefighters over pension abuse allegations
Do you see brazen greed and naked contempt for the taxpayer? That's what I
used to see too. But maybe we've been too hard on the firefighters. Maybe
what we've perceived for so long as avarice and arrogance is really a style
of self-help that the rest of us should emulate.
I used to look at the Fire Department and see a culture of corruption and
rip-offs. I used to find it infuriating that unethical firefighters would so
brazenly misuse sick leave, or file bogus disability claims, or, as recent
evidence suggests, cheat on a civil service exam. I thought it was
especially disgusting that even after two firefighters died last year with
intoxicants in their system - autopsies found that one was drunk and the
other had used cocaine - the union vehemently insisted that it would agree
to random drug testing only, to quote spokesman Scott Salman, "if it were a
contractual thing, if it were more money." I was appalled when the union
stuck to that demand - more money! - even after it transpired that a dozen
firefighters had been kicked off the force for substance abuse and scores
more ordered into treatment programs because they seemed drunk or stoned on
the job.
But in the wake of last week's raucous firefighters rally at the State
House, I'm changing my attitude about their attitude. Did you see the rally?
There were hundreds of firefighters, marching up from the Common in their
red union T-shirts and chanting: "What do we want? Respect! When do we want
it? Now!" And there was Robert McCarthy, president of the Professional
Firefighters of Massachusetts, bellowing, "We're not dogs! We won't be
treated like dogs!"
Well, how can you argue with that?
Boston firefighters earned an average of $92,756 in 2006 - $103,817 if
health benefits are included. According to the Boston Municipal Research
Bureau, 55 percent of the city's firefighters have a compensation package
worth $100,000 or more. You call that respect?
And that doesn't include pension benefits: According to the research bureau,
the average pension for a retiring firefighter is nearly $67,000 a year. And
if he retires on a disability claim, he gets it tax-free. (Would you believe
that nearly 75 percent of all Fire Department retirements in recent years
have been based on "disabilities?" Probably just a coincidence.)
So you can see why the firefighters bristle at being treated like "dogs" -
can't you? And you can understand why Firefighters Local 718 and its
president Ed Kelly will be damned if they'll agree to drug testing without
first getting their paychecks beefed up. What's more important, after all -
making sure that first responders with life-and-death responsibilities stay
sober? Or crossing their palms with extra silver?
There's no denying the Boston Fire Department has been earning plenty of bad
press lately. One firefighter was arrested for illegally buying OxyContin
from a known drug dealer in public; another was caught allegedly smoking
marijuana in a Boston Fire Department vehicle. Federal prosecutors have just
launched a grand-jury probe into what looks like rampant pension fraud and
disability abuse by Boston firefighters. Police have been ordered to guard
Fire Department headquarters to ensure that firefighters don't steal or
tamper with documents subpoenaed by the FBI.
Not a pretty picture. But the more I think about it, the more I wonder
whether the rest of us shouldn't take a page from the firefighters'
playbook. Let's all refuse to do our jobs properly unless we're paid extra
to do so. UPS wants its drivers to obey traffic laws? Pay up! Massachusetts
General Hospital expects doctors and nurses to protect patients' privacy?
Show 'em the money! Schools want to ban teachers from improper contact with
students? Give 'em a raise!
Preposterous? Yes - but no more so than firefighters demanding a reward
before they'll agree to random drug testing.
No one is forced to become a firefighter. Those who choose to do so are
entitled to be paid for the dangers they bravely face. They're not entitled
to be paid for agreeing not to endanger others. Insisting otherwise makes
the union look ridiculous. If the union really wants more "respect," it
might consider showing some for the rest of us.
Jeff Jacoby can be reached at jacoby@globe.com.