LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Fire Department (LFD) made national headlines with a daring rescue of a driver from a semi truck left dangling on Second Street Bridge. These firefighters are now hoping to turn that spotlight on another issue.
Louisville Professional Firefighters Local #54, a chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said their contract with the city still hasn't been settled which means no pay increases.
On Wednesday, members of the union rallied in a spot where you could still see the damage from the collision on the bridge. Jeff Taylor, president of the union, said they gathered to voice their frustrations.
"When they see [Metro] Corrections, and EMS and Metro Safe getting paid double time for time and a half and they don't -- it sends a message that they're not important," Taylor said.
Firefighters have been working about nine months past the expired contract with the city. Taylor said they want negotiations to finally get settled, especially after providing life-saving services with the apartment complex fire in NuLu and the collision on the bridge.
"A firefighter that really understands and gets the profession would do it for free if they could because they love what they do," Taylor said. "The fact of the matter is they've got to be paid because they have families, they got children, they got needs."
Family members like Caitlynn Carden, the wife of Bryce Carden the firefighter who saved the woman in the semi truck hanging off the bridge, were also in attendance to show their support.
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"It's a lot of stress, unneeded stress that's going on," Caitlynn said. "Some of these guys or women cannot fully do their jobs because they are so inclined with the union and things like that. The stress needs to be relieved as soon as possible."
Taylor said their frustrations are prominent and that Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg is also personally getting involved with these contract negotiations.
A statement from his office said: "Mayor Greenberg and his entire administration greatly value Louisville's heroic firefighters and their dedication to protecting our people and our city."
"This is not a function of something that Craig has done," Taylor said. "This is a function of how they've been ignored for the last 20 years. The majority if not all of their careers and they're just fed up."
Greenberg's office went on to say in the statement: "The Greenberg administration met nearly all the requests made by the union leadership. We will resolve this through conversations with union leadership directly, in accordance with our agreement.
"It's not my intent to stand toe to toe with him," Taylor said. "It's my intent to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. We'll work on this together."
A goal to settle what the next one to five years will look like for city firefighters.
The union said their main focus is fair pay, but they also hope to advocate on more funding for equipment. Some of which they say are around 15 years old. $100,000 for training was added to the department's funding from the mayor's last budget. Taylor said they hope to increase that.
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