Texas: Collective Bargaining Approved for City Firefighters
Click to read AWF's opposition to this issue
According to the Star-Telegram.com:
FORT WORTH -- Fort Worth firefighters won collective bargaining rights Tuesday night, collecting 55 percent of the votes for Proposition 1 with almost 90 percent of the precincts counted.
The Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce have spent more than $100,000 campaigning for the election. The firefighters say they need collective bargaining to ensure that future firefighters have the same benefits as current firefighters.
"This is a great victory not only for the firefighters but also for the citizens of Fort Worth," said Jim Tate, president of the firefighters association. "The voters have spoken. They want their firefighters to have health insurance when they retire."
Chamber officials said the plan could create friction among different groups of city employees and would take away control of the city's finances from elected officials and city managers.
Fort Worth becomes the 22nd city in Texas to give its firefighters collective bargaining rights. Other cities that have collective bargaining include Austin, Beaumont, Houston and El Paso...click to continue.
