Mayor Nutter, Firefighters Butt Heads Over Transfer Plan

No, City Hall and the firefighters union still haven’t finalized a contract that was to take effect (checks watch) three years ago. But what are the odds that the mess has anything at all to do with the latest brouhaha between the mayor and the firefighters. Firefighters Local 22 is challenging a plan to move hundreds of veteran firefighters to new locations. “It’s a complete safety hazard to civilians and firefighters,” says union chief Bill Gault. “These guys are established. You just can’t just learn our job in a couple of years. Right now they’re getting rid of all the institutional knowledge. It’s completely unsafe and not thought out.” But Mayor Michael Nutter’s spokesman says the rotations will help younger firefighters a variety of needed experience. At least nobody’s playing political games with the safety of Philadelphians, right? [NewsWorks]