HUNTINGTON BEACH : Firefighters Union Leaves Arbitration

Now in its 14th month without a contract, the Huntington Beach Firefighters Assn. is turning to residents in hopes of turning up pressure on the city.

Union leaders recently pulled out of the ongoing arbitration process, angered that the city has declined to discuss a tentative proposal to eliminate three firefighters and four paramedic vans.

Hoping to buttress their position, union officials have begun circulating petitions to residents supporting the union’s demands, said Kirk Campbell, the union president.

Campbell said the association is seeking about 10,000 signatures “to show support for fire services.” The petitions eventually will be forwarded to the City Council, which has final say on employee contracts.

Fire Chief Michael Dolder identified the potential staffing reductions at the request of City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga.

Uberuaga has asked all department heads to suggest possible spending cuts as the city considers ways to bridge a projected $5-million budget deficit. Uberuaga has strongly emphasized that the proposed spending cuts are not being recommended, and that none would be implemented without a series of public hearings and council approval.

City officials, therefore, say that the proposal to cut the three firefighters and the four paramedic vans should not be considered during the negotiation process.

But union leaders contend that the potential of reassigning paramedics to fire engines and laying off three firefighters is too important not to address during contract talks, which have focused chiefly on pay raises. Campbell noted that the proposed contract would extend through 1993, while the potential staffing cuts could be implemented as early as next June.

With backing of Louis Zigler, the independent state arbitrator handling the case, the union has suspended the arbitration process, which had been nearing a conclusion.

“We’re kind of in a holding pattern,” Campbell said, “so we’re going to the public.”

City officials, meanwhile, are calling for union leaders to return to the arbitration hearings. Campbell said the union’s attorneys are considering whether the firefighters should acquiesce.

The union’s 144 firefighters, fire captains, fire engineers, paramedics and dispatchers have been working without a contract since October, 1990. The city is offering firefighters a 20.5% pay raise over three years, while the union is seeking 23.5%. Huntington Beach firefighters currently earn between $31,000 and $41,000 a year.

Since contract talks formally reached an impasse in July, the union has led a campaign to lobby council members. The council, however, has maintained that the arbitration process should be completed before it intervenes.