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Fire chiefs express opposition to SB 5
By Elise Franco
Austintown
Fire chiefs in Mahoning County want their employees and government officials to know that they oppose Senate Bill 5.
Jim Dorman, vice president of the Mahoning County Firemen’s Association and former Boardman fire chief, said the group voted in non-support of the bill Thursday night during its monthly meeting at the Austintown Fire Department.
SB 5, which was signed into law by Ohio Gov. John Kasich on March 31, limits the collective-bargaining rights for public employees. Dorman said members of the MCFCA agreed that in safety enforcement, those bargaining rights are critical.
“It’s so dangerous because we believe police and fire should have the right to negotiate all benefits,” he said. “We don’t believe their current benefits supersede the jobs they do for their communities.”
Austintown Fire Chief Andy Frost Jr. said the MCFCA decided to follow the lead of the Mahoning County commissioners, as well as many townships and cities in the county.
“We want to throw all our support behind the unions, and any public employees affected by the bill,” he said.
Dorman said Mahoning County’s fire and police unions have made the proper concessions over the past several years of contracts.
“They’re been negotiating givebacks and zero wage increases,” he said. “And they’ve picked up more of their hospitalization costs.”