St. Louis firefighters who've been waiting in the wings for promotions and the pay hikes that go along with them are suing the city.
Acting Captains Jessica Jackson and Licole McKinney are among 17 firefighters involved in the suit, according to KMOV.
They were lauded recently as being proud examples of women representing the city.
“I come in, work, and do everything a captain would. I’m expected to do the reports and all of that without compensation,” Jackson told a reporter.
They and others say the lack of veteran command officers was a factor in the 2022 death of Firefighter Ben Polson, who was caught in the collapse of a vacant house.
The firefighter in charge that day had less than five years of experience, the suit noted.
“When you have someone on the truck that is not a captain, has not studied, and has not tested at times our life is in their hands,” Jackson said.
Currently, many officers are doing the jobs matching their rank but haven't seen a boost in pay.
“We’re already doing the job. We’re just not getting the pay,” McKinney noted. “It’s hurtful. I think it belittles my character. We deserve to be promoted because we took the test. We passed the test.”
An agreement, according to court documents, show "the city will not intentionally delay promotions from the current lists in anticipation of new lists being certified," the station reported.
Currently, at least 12 promotion spots remain unfulfilled, and that number is expected to increase.
“It is absolutely dangerous if you don’t have the right people in place. Sometimes I don’t feel comfortable, but I still have a job to do.”
