Vote against Prop B
Measure isn’t a referendum on our love for firefighters, but a request for a steep pay raise
Do you love firefighters? So do we. What’s not to love about brave first responders who stand ready, at a moment’s notice, to charge up flaming stairwells in bunker gear when the rest of us are fleeing for our lives?
If Proposition B were a referendum on our love and affection for Houston firefighters, as their union president claims, the choice would be easy. We’d back it. And so would Mayor Sylvester Turner, who was endorsed by firefighters in his mayoral campaign after decades of advocating for them. Instead, the mayor is dipping into his personal campaign funds to fight the measure on which too many influential Houstonians have remained mum.
Voters, don’t let the smoke get in your eyes.
In Proposition B, firefighters are asking for more than just appreciation. They’re asking for pay parity with police of comparable rank and seniority. They’re asking for what the mayor says amounts to a 25 percent raise that could cost the city an estimated $100 million the first year, forcing deep cuts to services and nearly 1,000 layoffs of firefighters and police.
Yes, we value firefighters. We value our kids, too. But most of us can’t go out and buy Junior a Lamborghini just because he asks for it.
And we can’t ignore that firefighters’ jobs are different from those of police. Both entail a great deal of risk, but firefighters have long been able to tailor their schedules to accommodate second jobs and businesses. Several Houston firefighters live out of state. And yes, as police point out, firefighters are allotted sleep time during their longer, 24-hour shifts.
Firefighters are asking voters for something police earned through years of hard-fought negotiations that required give and take from both sides.
Firefighters essentially want the take without the compromise. They had years to compromise. They either failed or refused to even try. Firefighters voted down a 4 percent raise under former Mayor Annise Parker and did not accept an offer of a 9.5 percent raise over three years from Turner. They had their reasons — one raise, they say, was tied to steep health care premium increases and another offer was made in bad faith after talks broke down.
But firefighters have a history of obstinacy in negotiations. For years, as lavish pension benefits buried the city in debt into the billions, police and municipal employees agreed to benefits cuts and gave the city a temporary reprieve from fully funding their pensions. Not firefighters. They clung to their generous benefits and their fully funded pensions. And when Turner worked with lawmakers, including state Sen. Joan Huffman, to pass pension reform last session, firefighters pulled their support at the last minute.
On one hand, we can’t blame firefighters for trying to maintain benefits they and their families expected when they signed up for service. On the other hand, we have to be realistic. The raises firefighters are asking for this time are simply unsustainable, a conclusion reached also by City Controller Chris Brown.
Firefighters, led in this effort by Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, have argued that the mayor is fearmongering about layoffs and exaggerating the cost. But Lancton, asked repeatedly what he believes the true cost to be, has refused to give a number. Firefighters point out that police recently received a raise. Yes, but it was incremental and negotiated. They point out that other major cities have some form of pay parity. But those cities are not subject to an onerous revenue cap as Houston is.
Here’s the bottom line: firefighters didn’t get the pay raise they wanted from the mayor, so they’re going around him and asking voters — sort of like asking one parent when the other says no. They argue that voting yes shows we care. But so does voting no.
Vote “against” on Proposition B and firefighters won’t be laid off. Vote “against” on Proposition B and maybe the city will find some money for the aging equipment and facilities firefighters say they want replaced. Vote “against” on Proposition B and expect Turner to keep his word: His offer of a 9.5 percent pay raise over three years will remain on the table even after the election.
We can’t blame firefighters for trying to maintain benefits they expected when they signed up. On the other hand, the raises they are asking for this time are simply unsustainable.