All Articles Tagged "firefighters"
Chicago Ordered to Hire 111 Black Firefighters
(Chicago Sun Times) — The Chicago Fire Department must hire 111 bypassed black firefighter candidates — and distribute “tens of millions of dollars” in damages to 6,000 others who will never get that chance — a federal appeals court ruled Friday, upholding a landmark ruling. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a 9-to-0 decision, that, contrary to the city’s contention, African-American candidates hadn’t waited too long before filing a lawsuit that accused the city of discriminating against them for the way it handled a 1995 firefighter’s entrance exam. On Friday, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling and sent the case back to the trial court to implement what it called the “hiring remedy” the city has been stalling. Plaintiffs’ attorney Joshua Karsh said the decision means Chicago must hire 111 African-American firefighters and adjust their pensions as if they had been on the job since 1995. Six-thousand others will share “tens of millions of dollars” in damages, Karsh said.
ATL Firefighters Rip Pension Proposal
(AJC) — Atlanta fire fighters turned up the heat on pension reform by bringing in a team of financial advisors and consultants who said Wednesday the proposed changes are “illegal, unjust and bad policy.” Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed has proposed ending defined pensions for city workers. Atlanta pays about 20 percent of its annual budget – or $125 million — to cover pension benefits. The city has $1.5 billion in promised benefits it has yet to cover, and Reed says a reform plan would keep that from figure from growing. Firefighters say the city is reneging on a promise, and they asked the city Wednesday to levy new taxes on commuters to keep the existing pension system. “We are here in good faith, asking the city council to follow through on their word,” said Jim Daws, president of the Atlanta chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters.
