Union files grievance to get firefighters back on beach

Kevin Sasser says it’s not cost effective to pay firefighters overtime to work the beach. But the union representing those firefighters isn’t buying it.

The Destin Fire Control District’s chief told the Board of Fire Commissioners Tuesday night that a grievance had been filed against the department by the Destin Professional Firefighters Union, Local 3158. He also said that the two sides haven’t been able to come to an agreement and a request for arbitration had been received Tuesday.

In years past, firefighters have been allowed to patrol the beaches of Destin as lifeguards in addition to their regular duties. As part of that agreement, they were paid overtime by the district from 2004 to 2006, according to the union’s grievance. From 2007 to 2010, the overtime pay was given to them through the Destin Fire Rescue Foundation.

Sasser said that the average lifeguard makes anywhere between $14.17 and about $17 an hour; the average firefighter, who works on the beach, makes about $25 an hour.

With budget cuts and wage freezes in place, commissioner Kim Brown had previously asked the chief to look at the numbers and put together a “cost/benefit analysis.”

“I don’t know what the numbers are,” she said.

And while he didn’t have any paperwork to hand out to the board during the meeting, Sasser did say that he had done the study and would get the information together in a presentable form.

“Through research and the analysis, it wouldn’t be in the best interest of the district or the citizens to have firefighters on the beach,” he said.

According to the grievance filed by the union, on February 14, the district “eliminated bargaining unit members right to work the beach patrol.”

For union president Mark Baugh, filing a grievance was the only option they had left. He told The Log Thursday that he had met with Sasser on multiple occasions and the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement.

“We had five guys from the fire department that worked on the beach last year, and for the chief to tell us last month that they could not work on the beach is unfair to them,” he said. “They had thought all off-season that they would be working on the beach… when you look at it, for these guys to not work on the beach, it’s a 15 to 20 percent reduction in wages for most of them.”

Baugh also said that the union had provided the district with other options for compensation, such as comp time, which would basically give them 1.5 hours of vacation time for every hour they worked on the beach and a combination of salary and comp time that would reduce the financial burden.

“There are ways that both sides can work things out without going to arbitration,” Baugh said. “That’s what we would like to see happen.”

The document says that the unions desired outcome is to revert back to the past practice of allowing the firefighters to work the beach “for wages and fully compensating all employees for any back pay and benefits lost due to the illegal unilateral change.”

For her part, Commissioner Hillary Anderson said she had also sat down with the chief to discuss the issue.

“I am an advocate for our employees being on the beach,” she said. But, “I know there is a budget we have to be mindful of.”

For new commissioner Mike Buckingham, it was a matter of numbers, adding that he had to “answer to the people” who elected him.

Sasser said that the cost of keeping firefighters on the beach is about $200,000 a year.

Commission chairman Tommy Green, a champion of the beach safety program, said that he “would take the lead” and meet with Sasser and the district’s attorney Mary Kraemer to decide what the next step should be.

“You can throw money at a lot of things, but that doesn’t always make it better,” he said. “This has been something that has been close to my heart and I have encouraged it and really want to see it go, but we have to look at the numbers.”