Nothing bothers me more than when somebody distorts the truth. The following is for my brothers in North Riverside, who need our support, but more importantly, the support of the residents of North Riverside. So here it goes.... Once again, Mayor Hermanek has sent out letters to the North Riverside residents amazingly fraught with distortions, half-truths and lies, at the tax-payers expense, I might add. Let me take the time to share with you some of his fairy-tales. What about your safety? For years, the Village of North Riverside have been protected by professional full-time union firefighters, who have to be certified by the Illinois State Fire Marshall’s Office, test for the position, go through a background check and a physical agility test. They train daily; they give back to the community and care about each and every resident. Yes, they have had to work alongside numerous part-time PSI employees, who work for a FOR PROFIT company, whose only concern is their OWN bottom line. There really is no way of knowing who those PSI employees are because the village does not do a background check on those people. It is left up to PSI. How stringent are they in their screening? According to reports, the following mutual aid companies responded to the Carson’s fire, Broadview, Forest Park, Berwyn, Brookfield, Oak Park, Riverside, Cicero and Lyons. Every one of those departments are professional full-time union departments, the only exception being, Lyons and Riverside. The Lyons Fire and Riverside departments showed up with two individuals each and the Riverside Fire department showed up with around a 30 minute response time. PSI paramedics did absolutely NO FIREFIGHTING while at the scene of the fire. All other fire departments showed up with a minimum of four professional full-time union firefighters. Consider PSI? PSI, the FOR PROFIT company was replaced in the City of Berwyn with professional full-time union firefighter/paramedics, after the union negotiated with the city and showed them savings over a thirty year time period. PSI, until then had no-bid contracts, as they do with most of the communities they serve. The North Riverside Fire Fighters Local 2714 offered to have their own firefighters cross-trained and take on the paramedic work, using the model in Berwyn. Currently, some of those professional full-time firefighters are already paramedics and have to maintain their license through the Loyola medical system. As for Mayor Hermanek’s claim, a North Riverside firefighter or lieutenant has salary and benefits of $200,000-$230,000. That is an outright, LIE! If that is the case, where do I sign up? The only reason the village is facing deficits and shortfalls is because your politicians have stuck their head in the sand for so many years and refused to look to the future sustainability of their village. Experience? Does PSI have experienced firefighters? Yes they do and most of them work in the Village of Lincolnwood, the only municipality in the State of Illinois that hires a private company for both fire and paramedic services. The PSI employees that have walked through the doors in Berwyn and most other communities numbers well into the hundreds. PSI is a training ground for EMT’s and paramedics, a revolving door of employees who seek something better. Ask any EMT or paramedic who worked for them, why they left and you will hear the same answer over and over. They wanted better benefits, salary, vacation time, pension etc. In Berwyn, we have many former PSI employees who realized that their ticket to a better life was with a professional full-time union department. What was offered? The Village of North Riverside obviously does not believe in the collective bargaining rights the firefighters have earned and fought for in the State of Illinois. Your village politicians are being convinced, once a collective bargaining agreement ends, that’s it, done, over, kaput! Sorry, Mayor Hermanek, you should know better, you have served long enough to know that is not how the system works. Unfortunately, the same tactic was tried in Berwyn, by a previous administration who thought the very same thing. They found out differently. Oh and they were being advised by the same attorney the Village of North Riverside is using now. I urge all North Riverside taxpayers to FOIA the amount of money being spent on legal fees to fight the union. Your tax dollars are being wasted! Did the Village fail to make payments to the pension fund? Ummmmm, YES, it is all part of public record. The $700,000 the village alleges they will save by privatizing is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. The village for years had underfunded the pension system and in the last few years made ZERO contributions. Now, you tell me, if you did not pay your mortgage, wouldn’t the mortgage lender repossess your home? The pension liability will still be there and has to be paid into the future for the current retirees. Just so you know, I will be one of those “outsiders” who will be knocking on your door to explain why privatizing is such a bad idea. Not a negative message, but the truth, because you as a taxpayer deserve the truth, not distortions, half-truths and lies. Felix A. Greco President Berwyn Fire Fighters Association Local 506
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 03:25:34 +0000
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