Firefighters Take Battle to City Hall
About 40 firefighters took their salary dispute to City Hall on Monday night, lifting picket signs in such a way that cameras televising the City Council meeting could send their message throughout the city:
“Orange County Fire Authority Unfair to Firefighters,” read one of the signs.
The action was part of a series of protests by the firefighters and their union, the Orange County Professional Firefighters Assn., to persuade the authority and the cities that sit on its governing board to raise their pay.
“There is a problem that needs to be fixed,” said John Latta, vice president of the association and a captain with the OCFA. “You need to ask yourself, ‘Does the OCFA respect its firefighters?’ The answer so far has been no.”
Council members did not respond to the protest at the meeting but Mayor Art Brown said Tuesday that they are watching the situation. “I feel the firefighters have a legitimate argument, but if the authority doesn’t have the money, they don’t have the money,” he said.
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