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by William Murphy
Disgruntled firefighters are expected to pass a "no-confidence" vote Tuesday against Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.
The vote by delegates of the Uniformed Firefighters Association is symbolic, but it reflects a seething discontent in the 8,400-member union over the lack of a new labor contract and a crackdown on what the Fire Department considers a high rate of medical leave.
Union President Stephen Cassidy declined during an interview Friday to discuss what might come out of the meeting, but several delegates have been talking about some sort of job action, which would be illegal under state law.
"I don't know where it's going," Cassidy said. "I called the meeting to discuss the leadership of the department and the commissioner."
The firefighters and the union have been battling for months over issues like sick leave, random drug testing and discipline, but everyone agrees those problems become bigger problems whenever firefighters have been working without a contract for a long time.
"I can guarantee you that a contract headache will juice the numbers more than any number of runs," said one senior fire chief, who has retired. "I could look at the numbers on any given morning and know how the negotiations were going."
The old contract expired in the summer of 2002 and the Bloomberg administration has said publicly that all unions will have to settle for a deal like many civilians workers got last year: a 4 percent raise spread over three years and a taxable $1,000 bonus.
The unions representing uniformed workers have rejected that offer, or anything close to it. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association is in arbitration hearings and a ruling is expected in February or March.
That would cement the civilian settlement pattern and ensure that firefighters, correction officers and the superior officers in those uniformed work forces got the same deal.
The union membership might decide to oust Cassidy and his executive board when they come up for re-election early next summer with that settlement as a foregone conclusion.
Cassidy has denied that his criticism of the department and Scoppetta had anything to do with his re-election. Just three weeks ago, Cassidy said that Scoppetta "isn't qualified to head the department."
Last week, Scoppetta ordered that staffing on 49 engine companies be reduced by one firefighter, to four, because the 7.53 percent absence rate violated an agreement with the union and it was costing more than $1 million monthly in overtime to fill the fifth slots.
The commissioner also transferred 20 firefighters with what the department considered high absence rates -- more than 30 days in each of the past three years. One of those transferred was Edwin Anzalone, also known as "Firefighter Ed," who was at the Meadowlands yesterday cheering on his favorite football team, the Jets.
The union has a court action pending against such transfers and said Friday that it hoped for an expedited hearing on its case from U.S. District Court Judge Dora Irizarry of the Southern District.
FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon did not return a call for comment, but in the past, he has said that Cassidy's criticism of Scoppetta was "ridiculous," and said the union leader was trying to get elected.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc
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