Union advocating for pay increase for James Island firefighters
JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – The James Island Professional Firefighters Association is sounding the alarm on issues plaguing the department, they said are a direct result of low pay.
“In the area, the average is 50,000 dollars a year and our firefighters currently are under 37 (thousand) and we’re trying to get as close as we can to that 50,000-dollar year average so that we can retain people, but also hire people,” said Sean Foulois, the President of the James Island Professional Firefighters Association.
Foulois blamed the department’s nine vacancies on the starting salary. He said they’re expecting to have 17 vacancies later this summer because several firefighters are actively looking for jobs at higher-paying departments.
Unless something changes, the department said it is going to have to cut back on resources.
“The fire department is going to have to look at shutting down apparatus which means you won’t have stations that have manning at it. So, it’s going to be a delayed response when that happens,” Foulois explained. “But it also is jeopardizing our City of Charleston brothers and sisters because they work with us on this island so, we are all under the auto-aid group and we won’t be able to provide the normal response when we’re down that many.”
Foulois said most of the firefighters are working 48 hours on with 24 hours off instead of the other way around, which is considered the norm.
“If you really look at what’s really going on here, this is more than pay. This is taking away from families, this is mental stress, this is fatigue, this is burnout,” said John Baker, the President of the Charleston Firefighters Association – Local 61.
Marilyn Clifford is the Commission Chair for the James Island Public Service District and said better compensation is a district-wide concern and that each department is essential in keeping residents safe.
She went on to say in part, “compensation for our essential workers is funded by our limited tax base of 7,000 customers of the JIPSD. The Commission has a proposed budget increasing salaries to get all areas of the JIPSD better pay.”
According to Foulois, the proposal is to bring all district employee salaries to $42,000 if they make less and to provide all staff a Cost-of-Living Adjustment. The union is not convinced that is enough.
“That still doesn’t address the issue within the fire department and the pay that’s in our area,” Foulois told News 2.
The JIPSD Commission is scheduled to meet on June 24th for a budget meeting.
