The wind shifts on the fire station blaze
November 25th, 2003 by Administrator
Three firefighters union reps were face to face with Richmond city reps at about 2:30 this afternoon in “impact bargaining” when in walked assistant city attorney Leveron Bryant with the day’s big news.
Fire Station 61 will stay open–most of the time. The department will hold rolling closures on “the Oakland model,” Oakland’s solution to its budget crisis.
By the time union business manager Dan Colvig, Local 188 president Jimmy Russey and union VP Erik Newman got back to Station 61, councilman Tom Butt had pulled discussion of the closure off Monday’s agenda, and Point Richmond Online had posted the news.
Suddenly, the wind shifts. Effects of the fire department cutbacks are spread more widely, diffusing opposition. City administrators smile among themselves tonight and imagine an aroused Point going back about its business. Hurrah, the citizen army goes home. The firefighters are left with hoses in hand.
Colvig’s not smiling. “If they want to use the Oakland model, they can start by closing City Hall once a week,” he said. This year, all non-essential Oakland city services began closing one day per month.
Our firefighters fight on, as they should. Watch for more on “the Oakland model.”
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