A Brookfield firefighter who was laid off on Jan. 3 got his job back Monday night after his colleagues voted unanimously to accept concessions that will pay for his salary during the next 12 months.
Village Manager Riccardo Ginex and firefighters union negotiator Tim McDonald signed an agreement on Jan. 11 stating that Brookfield firefighters will give up all holiday pay, all tuition reimbursement for training courses and their allotment for uniform costs during 2010.
In exchange, Firefighter Nick Tomeczko has been hired back as of Jan. 12 as a full-time employee in the village of Brookfield.
“It’s very overwhelming for me and my family,” said Tomeczko, expressing relief at the outcome of Monday’s vote. “I told the guys tonight it means more to me and my family than they’ll ever know.”
Firefighters and the village board met at the same time Monday night. While village trustees were in executive session discussing labor negotiations, McDonald walked into the council chambers holding the signed agreement from firefighters.
Ginex signed the agreement on behalf of the village after the board reconvened in open session.
“I never wanted to lay [Tomeczko] off,” Ginex said. “It’s a difficult thing to lay people off. It affects the whole organization and it affects family life. It’s good to have him back.”
According to McDonald, vice president of Local 73 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the concessions will free up about $83,000 during 2010, which will pay for Tomeczko’s salary and benefits.
Monday’s agreement does not mean the village and firefighters have agreed to a new contract. That deal is still being negotiated, with both sides scheduled to meet Jan. 20. Both Ginex and McDonald said they hoped a new contract could be worked out on that day.
The village is seeking a zero-percent increase in salaries from its firefighters after winning a similar deal from public works and clerical employees in late 2009. If the village ends up agreeing to any sort of salary increase for firefighters, other cuts will have to be made to accommodate the new expense, Ginex has said.
The issue of firefighter staffing came to a head on Dec. 14, 2009 when Tomeczko, the most junior member of the bargaining unit, appeared before the village board to plead for his job. Firefighters had made concessions to retain his job earlier in the year when Ginex announced a series of layoffs in several departments.
When firefighters rejected additional concessions to avoid laying off Tomeczko on Jan. 2, his fate was sealed. McDonald said that the village had added a concession that would have allowed them to reduce shift staffing, which was met with hostility by firefighters.
Once the village pulled that concession off the table, firefighters agreed to the rest of the concessions, saving the firefighter’s job.
Asked about the issue of shift staffing, Ginex declined to comment.
“I’ll reserve comment until we have a signed agreement,” Ginex said. “It was never the village’s position to lay him off.”
After Tomeczko’s Dec. 14 appearance at the board meeting, where McDonald and fellow firefighters were in attendance, Ginex characterized the scene as a “dog and pony show,” a statement that drew fire from firefighters and some community members.
Tomeczko’s mother-in-law, Sue Hitzeman, blasted Ginex Monday night and demanded an apology.
“It’s been an insult to my family, Nick’s family, the Brookfield Fire Department and the citizens of Brookfield,” Hitzeman said.
Ginex stated that he had phoned Tomeczko in the wake of the comment, which appeared in the Landmark.
“I talked with Nick man to man, and we consider the matter closed,” Ginex said.
Tomeczko confirmed his conversation with Ginex.
“He said it was taken out of context and that his words were not meant the way they were said. I told him I appreciated him calling me and telling me that,” Tomeczko said.