Firefighters’ Sickout Turns Up Heat in Labor Dispute

SANTA ANA — More than half of the Orange County Fire Authority’s full-time firefighters called in sick Wednesday in a major escalation of their long-simmering labor dispute with the agency.

The sickout forced fire officials to extend the work hours of some night-shift employees, who were required to work overtime to make sure that all 61 fire stations were adequately staffed.

Capt. Scott Brown said public safety was never threatened and that the Fire Authority was able to handle all of its emergency calls without incident.

Still, the job action underscored how bitter relations have grown between the Fire Authority’s board of directors and its firefighters, who have not received a raise since 1995.

Ken MacLeod, the acting director of fire services, said the Fire Authority will have to pay significant amounts of overtime because of the job action, which he said was prohibited under state law. “This sickout is not in the best interests of our community,” he said in a statement.

John Latta, vice president of the Orange County Professional Firefighters Assn., denied that the union organized the sickout. “This is just a sign of the frustration firefighters are feeling,” he said. “It’s a dramatic statement.”

The sickout was one of the largest job actions to hit Orange County government in several years. The last major sickout occurred in 1995, when several dozen Huntington Beach police officers staged a “blue flu” to protest stalled contract negotiations. A year earlier, 36 Sheriff’s Department deputies called in sick during a labor dispute.

On Tuesday, 114 firefighters failed to show up for work--about 52% of the 220 scheduled to work that shift, Brown said.

The sickout comes a week after the Fire Authority abruptly canceled its annual October open house, which draws thousands to local fire stations. Officials said they canceled the event out of concern that firefighters might picket.

Hundreds of firefighters picketed outside Anaheim Stadium during a Labor Day baseball game, distributed fliers and brought their case before several city councils.

The firefighters complain that they are paid about 30% less than their counterparts in Los Angeles County and deserve higher salaries. But the Fire Authority’s board of directors said it cannot afford raises at this time as it struggles to keep its budget in balance.

In July, the board unilaterally imposed a new contract on its 700 full-time firefighters. The contract provided no pay raises but did increase certain benefits.

Mission Viejo Councilwoman Sherry Butterfield, a member of the board, said growing property tax revenues might allow the agency to consider raises next year.

“No one deserves a raise more than the firefighters,” she said. “We simply do not have the money right now. The issue is the timing and the amount.”

Latta said the fire union hopes that the sickout will force authority officials to begin more earnest negotiations with firefighters.

“We want the elected officials to address the issues and not ignore them,” he said. “They need to take these concerns seriously.”

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Fire Protection

The Orange County Fire Authority serves about 1.1 million residents living in 19 cities and all county unincorporated areas. Cities served:

Buena Park

Cypress

Dana Point

Irvine

Laguna Hills

Laguna Niguel

Lake Forest

La Palma

Los Alamitos

Mission Viejo

Placentia

San Clemente

San Juan Capistrano

Seal Beach

Stanton

Tustin

Villa Park

Westminster

Yorba Linda

Source: Orange County Fire Authority