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No wage increase a possibility for Louisville union employees

There are discussions about using the money meant for raises to help cover the city's budget gap.

LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- Louisville union employees could end up losing their pay raise in the next fiscal year.

There are discussions about using the money meant for raises to help cover the city's budget gap.

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On Wednesday night, union employees received a letter explaining the plan to freeze wage increases.

If it's approved by all unions, it would also apply to non-union employees in fiscal year 2020.

RELATED: Metro Council members: Mayor, give us a realistic approach to budget cuts

On Thursday, the Metro Corrections Union President released a statement saying in part, "Asking public safety and labor workers to support the irresponsible No vote, a majority of Metro Council rendered in the mayor's tax proposal, is cowardly and dangerous to the safety and well-being of Louisville's citizens."

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Brian O’Neill, president of IAFF Local 345, told WHAS the following:

1) A pay freeze is not a viable option for our members, and quite frankly it shows a lack of ingenuity and creativity on the part of the city. Our firefighters already lag significantly behind other firefighters in this region - we work more hours for less pay - so a step backwards is just not acceptable.

2) Our department has continually suffered cuts and reductions over the past 20 years, and it is to the credit of Mayor Fischer and his administration that we have stopped the bleeding and have been moving forward in a positive direction, so let's not reopen those wounds.

3) Our members have offered to take on more work in the form of returning to fire based EMS, which would save the city several million dollars a year. Nearly every major metropolitan area in the US, Canada, and Europe all do fire-based EMS — it is the industry standard for better delivery at a lower cost.

4) For all of our Metro employees, hazardous and non-hazardous, that are serving this community - it is wrong to ask all of us to shoulder the cost of the service that we provide.


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