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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint firefighters vote to accept double-digit contract concessions
Published: Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 8:50 PM Updated: Thursday, April 14, 2011, 12:45 AM
By Khalil AlHajal | The Flint Journal The Flint Journal
FLINT, Michigan — The city's firefighters have voted to accept double-digit contract concessions, union president Raul Garcia said today.
Garcia said union members voted 63-21 on Tuesday to give up pay raises and make other concessions to help the city save money.
Garcia said union members wanted to choose their own concessions, rather than allow officials to move in and cut at will under a new state law.
"There was a possibility that the receiver or whoever would come in would take away more," he said. "We hope that they won't come after us and ask for additional concessions."
He said he presented the concession proposal to Mayor Dayne Walling today in hopes that the city will accept the agreement.
The union voted in November to reject a contract proposal that included 9.9 percent in concessions.
The mayor continued to ask for double-digit concessions as demotions and possible fire station closures loomed.
The November proposal would have cut all 80 hours of holiday pay for firefighters.
The proposal the union approved Tuesday cut only 40 hours of holiday pay, but firefighters are giving up 1-percent pay raises that would have been scheduled for this year and next in the previous contract proposal.
Firefighters are also offering to forfeit food allowances, which amount to about $12 a day, and sick leave buy-backs, Garcia said.
The proposal also has union members paying 2 percent more toward retirement benefits and about $50 a month more in health benefits.
Also under the proposal, one fire department position left vacant by a recent retirement will not be filled, Garcia said.
He would not say what position it is.
Garcia said the department has also saved the city money by implementing a brownout plan proposed by the union.
Under the plan, any fire station left understaffed because of sickness or vacation time on a given day is closed or partially closed for just that day, with the remaining firefighters at that station moving to the city's four other stations.
The policy was implemented today, Garcia said, with no fire trucks coming out of Station No. 1. |
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Thu Apr 14, 2011 4:59 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Arson suspected in fire on Ruth Avenue in Flint
Published: Thursday, April 14, 2011, 7:31 AM Updated: Thursday, April 14, 2011, 7:36 AM
By David Harris | Flint Journal The Flint Journal
FLINT, Michigan — A suspected arson fire caused an estimated $25,000 in damage at a home on East Ruth Avenue near Industrial.
The original call went out that someone was inside the home, but that turned out to be false.
The arson squad was notified. |
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Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:02 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Two families displaced in separate fires overnight
Published: Thursday, April 14, 2011, 8:33 AM Updated: Thursday, April 14, 2011, 2:13 PM
By David Harris | Flint Journal The Flint Journal
FLINT, Michigan — Firefighters responded to six fires Wednesday night and Thursday morning, two of which displaced families, fire officials said.
A family of six was displaced when their home on East Pulaski near King Avenue caught fire. The fire is believed to have started because a kitchen fan shorted out. It caused insulation to burn in the attic, said Battalion Chief Andy Graves.
It caused an estimated $23,000 in damage, Graves said. There were no injuries.
Fire crews also responded to a fire around 3 a.m. on Washington Avenue near Willow Street. There was a heavy fire on the front porch, first floor and front exterior, Graves said.
A family of two arrived home around 4 a.m. and said they were in the process of moving. There were no injuries.
The Red Cross was contacted in both fires.
Firefighters also responded to three other occupied houses — around 5:30 p.m. to a home on Pennsylvania Avenue near Iowa Avenue; a home on Lynbrook Drive around 6:30 p.m.; and a home on West Austin Avenue near King Avenue around 5 a.m.
No one was injured in those fires, Graves said.
There was also a fire around 8 p.m. at an abandoned house on East Jackson near Bonbright Street. |
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Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:03 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Molotov cocktail used to set vacant house on fire
Published: Friday, April 08, 2011, 8:40 AM Updated: Friday, April 08, 2011, 9:00 AM
By Khalil AlHajal | The Flint Journal The Flint Journal
FLINT, Michigan — A Molotov cocktail was used to set a vacant house on fire around 4 a.m. Thursday, according to a police report.
The fire did about $700 in damage to the living room of the house on East Hamilton Avenue near Industrial Avenue.
Arson investigators found evidence of forced entry through the front door and the Molotov cocktail inside, according to the report. |
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Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:23 pm |
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