“I would hope that a majority of city employees would feel more of a commitment to the community than just a paycheck”
In Gallup, New Mexico, the city manager has some harsh words for firefighters. Responding to a press conference earlier this month where Gallup Firefighters Association Local 4296 complained the starting salary was only a dollar above minimum wage, Gerald Herrera says city employees should place their commitment to the community before their paycheck.
Here are excerpts from Kevin Killough’s article in the Gallup Independent:
Herrera says that the city is placing priority on the police union contract, which is due for renewal in February 2009. The firefighters’ contract is valid until September of next year. Who gets preference is determined by priority, Herrera said.
The local union was partly motivated by recent decisions to reconsider police salaries. The city had been spending thousands training officers, who would then be lured away after completing their training to other agencies with higher salaries. Herrera says the two departments share distinct job functions and could not be compared.
Herrera adds that the service of every city employee is valued by the mayor and council, but he didn’t think that the firefighters should be more concerned with pride in the work they do than just how much they’re paid.
“It is unfortunate that in today’s society that workplace pride has been reduced to a specific delineation of job duties that dictate a contractual dollars and cents value. I would hope that a majority of city employees would feel more of a commitment to the community than just a paycheck, since this community is made of their friends, relatives and family members,” he says.
