Conn. Mayor: Firefighters Should Not be Concerned
Source The Day, New London, Conn.
NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The mayor is expected to notify 25 firefighters who received lay-off notices last month that their jobs are intact and they will still be working July 1.
Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio said he is sending out formal letters to all the firefighters who received pink slips to tell them they will not be laid off on June 30. The layoff notices will be rescinded until July 3, Finizio said, pending City Council approval July 2 on a revised contract.
"Firefighters should not be concerned at this time," Finizio said Tuesday. "They should continue to advocate for what they believe. But I have seen nothing to give alarm at this point."
The City Council discussed the agreement with Local 1522 Monday night and more than a dozen firefighters attended the meeting awaiting council approval on changes to the contract. Instead, councilors emerged from a closed-door session and took no action. There was no public discussion, either. Some members left the meeting angry because they did not know whether or not they would still be employed July 1.
But Tuesday Finizio said the firefighters have nothing to worry about.
He said he has no problem with the council taking its time to review the revised contract, which he said will have "substantial savings" for the city.
"It's perfectly reasonable for the council to take a week to review the changes," he said. "I'm very, very hopeful the contract will be swiftly approved. We've been given every indication that the agreement will be ratified."
Finizio handed out layoff slips, effective June 30, to 25 firefighters in an effort to save money in the 2012-13 budget. The union and the city negotiated an amended contract, which must be ratified by the City Council. The amended contract, which is already signed by the union and the city, must be ratified by the council. It will not be public until after council approval.
The president of the city's firefighters' union is expected to meet with the mayor at 2 p.m. today.
Union President Rocco Basilica said the mayor has assured him that no firefighters will be laid off, despite no action being taken by the City Council.
"I thought this was the last hurdle," Basilica said Tuesday morning. "Things are now in a state of flux."
Copyright 2012 - The Day, New London, Conn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
