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Firefighters press for laundering, decontamination and higher on‑call pay in contract talks
Summary
The Florida State Fire Service Association urged the committee to back contract language protecting firefighters from out‑of‑scope construction duties, to raise on‑call/callback pay and to require PPE laundering and shower facilities to reduce cancer exposure risk, saying the state has not bargained in good faith on these items.
Philip DeMaria, speaking for the Florida State Fire Service Association, told the Joint Select Committee that his bargaining unit remains at impasse on several non‑economic and economic articles and urged the committee to recommend union language.
DeMaria said article 11 should prevent requiring firefighters to perform major construction tasks beyond their job descriptions, and he described examples—gutting and rebuilding houses or replacing septic systems—that the union argues are outside reasonable duties. On hours (article 23) the union seeks schedule definitions it says will treat different firefighter schedules fairly and avoid the state’s long‑standing practice of extended work periods that can suppress overtime pay.
On on‑call and callback pay (article 24) DeMaria described current on‑call compensation of $1 per hour as outdated and unfair, and he said callbacks outside normal hours should receive overtime rates. He asked that employers provide PPE laundering at work and showering/decontamination facilities (articles 26 and 29), citing research on cancer exposure risks and referencing a peer‑reviewed article coauthored by a Forest Service safety officer. DeMaria said the union believes the state’s written responses to those proposals were "offensive" to the memory of members who died from job‑related cancer and urged the committee to press for good‑faith negotiation.
DeMaria closed by asking the committee to recommend the union’s proposed language and to support further bargaining rather than legislative imposition.
