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Residents and union urge Muscatine council to restore firefighter positions amid overtime concerns
Summary
Multiple firefighters, union leaders and residents urged the Muscatine City Council to reverse plans to leave two firefighter positions vacant, warning that reduced staffing raises response times, fatigue and trauma exposure. Council and the union said negotiations are underway and progress has been made.
At a March 3 Muscatine City Council meeting, firefighters, the union and dozens of residents implored the council not to leave two vacant firefighter positions unfilled and to address rising overtime and staffing strain.
Union president Nathan Paxton told the council he and members of Muscatine Firefighters Local 608 were "confident in moving forward with a positive and hopeful posture" and said the union would continue negotiating with the chief and city staff to find a solution. "With the council, our chief, city staff, we hope to maintain the great progress that the fire department has made over the last couple months," Paxton said.
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