F.I.R.E Press Releases

 

     F.I.R.E's Stand

 18 Jan 08
     How Can We Move Forward?  26 Nov 07
     Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality Responds to the Appointment of New Fire Chief  19 Nov 07

 

F.I.R.E. NEWS
PRESS RELEASE
 
TO:                All Media Outlets
SUBJECT:       F.I.R.E.'s Position Statement
DATE:            January 18, 2008
 
Yesterday evening F.I.R.E. received a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from the Director of Public Safety Charles Bryson. F.I.R.E. has been requested by the Director to review a document that would address input into the operations of the St. Louis Fire Department through a (MOU). While this is a noble gesture by the Mayor to send the director to work with F.I.R.E. after they would not address our issues and after they demoted/fired the fire chief of whom they did not support. We feel it is disingenuous for us to receive a document that is sent to the media at the same time it is sent to F.I.R.E. This unfortunately is how the union and the city has operated for years and this is one of the reasons why we have remained outside of the union and can˘t trust the union or the city who are clearly advocates for the union. F.I.R.E. feels that this is an attack on our organization by bypassing the Executive Board of F.I.R.E. and these are the same tactics that the local has used to try to divide our organization by addressing our membership directly. Because of the pressure from other groups supporting Sherman George, this administration is trying to give the public the appearance that we are working together to resolve the issues of the fire department. Yet they have failed to address the issues (entry level testing, promotional testing and input into the STLFD) of F.I.R.E. dating back well before we even took the 2004 test. This media play is the same thing that they did with Chief George by attempting to sway public opinion before they allowed him time to review or respond to their agenda.
 
This MOU represents committee˘s that do not require us to sign an MOU; the fire chief can form committees and make them as diverse as he wants to. The one thing that stand out in this MOU is the fact that the City of St. Louis is advocating that the African American firefighters join the union, yet they continue to avoid addressing the many letters and issues that we have requested the mayor respond to. We are not going to allow this administration to force the union down our throats! What they are doing within this MOU violates the state laws on collective bargaining in the State of Missouri . We will not be intimidated and will remain steadfast.    
 
F.I.R.E.'s demands are as follows and must be met;
 
1.      Reinstate Sherman George to Fire Chief with the authority to restructure and manage the St. Louis Fire department without any interference from the 

         administration or local 73.
2.      Reinstate 50/50 hiring and institute a 50/50 diversity promotional plan through an executive order from the mayor.
3.      Publicly support and influence local 73 to form a new Collective bargaining group with a collaborative group made up of equal members from F.I.R.E. 

         and Local 73 to be recognized as the authorized collective bargaining agent by the State of Missouri .
4.      Demote all of the illegally promoted firefighters, captains and chief that were promoted and reinstate Sherman George as fire chief.
5.      We want to utilize the plan that we have on how testing will be conducted before any new testing process is administered.
 
F.I.R.E. IS NOT IN SUPPORT OF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ISSUES;
 
·        ˝ cent sales tax or Proposition S.
·        The future Bond Issue Initiative.
·        Any conventions being held within the city limits of St. Louis . I.e. the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters (IABPFF) or the  

         National Society of Black Engineers.
 
Contact:   Addington Stewart
Phone:      (314) 369-7935
Website:  <http://www.f-i-r-e.org/> www.f-i-r-e.org        

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                  CONTACT:

November 19, 2007

 Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality Responds to the Appointment of New Fire Chief

 Today, once again, Mayor Francis Slay has put politics, partisanship and race preference ahead of the safety of St. Louis citizens.  In an unprecedented move, Mayor Slay passed over a qualified Deputy Chief to promote a crony.

 Here are the facts:   

  1. Dennis Jenkerson is a personal friend of Mayor Francis Slay.
  2. Every Fire Chief prior to today has been selected from the list of Deputy Chiefs.
  3. Jenkerson is a Battalion Chief, not a Deputy Chief.
  4. Until today, never in the history of the St Louis Fire Department has a Mayor reached down and passed over a Deputy Chief to promote from a lower rank.
  5. It has been reported that Jenkerson is under investigation for using Fire Department equipment and personnel to remove a diving board off of Lou Hamilton’s swimming pool.
  6. Never in the history of the St Louis Fire Department has a Fire Chief been selected who is under a criminal investigation.

 “F.I.R.E.’s position is clear, we reject the constructive firing of Chief Sherman George, and we do not recognize the selection process used to install Jenkerson,” said Addington Stewart, “Unfortunately this selection proves once again that public safety is off the table---politics, cronyism and race now drive the decisions made at City Hall. This is a sad day for the city of St. Louis .”

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