Survey: Many in Worcester firefighters union don't trust administration chiefs

WORCESTER — The Worcester Firefighters Union last week released results of a survey that indicated a vast majority of its members don’t trust their administration chiefs and feel compelled to come to work while ill or injured due to fear of negative consequences of using sick time.

The firefighters union sent out 370 email links to the survey on Jan. 1 and received 268 responses, or close to 70% of the department, by mid-January. The information was compiled and analyzed and the findings were made in a 13-page report back in February, according to District Fire Chief William Mosley, president of the Worcester Firefighters International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1009.

“Originally, this started over a year ago where we brought some concerns to the leadership, the department and the city, and, as union representatives…ultimately we were not heard,” Mosley said. “We made multiple attempts to have discussion that could be productive. And our membership grew more frustrated over the last year and wanted to pursue a ‘no confidence’ vote back in August. And as union leadership, we were able to ask our membership for a little more time. Let’s take some time, gather some information, and that’s where we started the process of developing this survey.”

For the report, Mosley, who has 13 years in the department, said the firefighters union hired Emergency Services Consulting International to conduct the survey of its members, regarding safety, policies and procedures, leadership and morale within the department.

Mosley said the union hired ESCI because it is the same company the city hired to conduct the 2021 audit of the fire department.

“Because the city trusted them before and because they are a management-leading company, we thought it would shore up its credibility that it wouldn’t come into question when we produced the results of the survey,” Mosley said.

Only 11% trust administration chiefs

According to the report, only 11% of the firefighters union members surveyed trust the administration chiefs.

The report also found only 6% of respondents believe that they have a good relationship with administration. Furthermore, respondents generally do not trust the administration to do the right thing for them and their co-workers, Mosley said.

“For us to even start to discuss talking to people in leadership to see if we can make things better, we already had to know things were bad,” Mosley said. “I’ve been on this department through three line of duty deaths. There are other members who have been here since the ’99 fire. I think we all agree that morale has been as low as it’s ever been even with dealing with all of that.”

According to the survey, 90% of respondents expressed fear of negative consequences for using sick time, while 81% of union members reported coming to work while ill or injured due to fear of using sick time.

Furthermore, Mosley said he doesn’t believe there’s a “sick abuse” problem in his department that warrants this kind of action.

“It really does make people nervous, afraid and just looking over their shoulders,” Mosley said. “I don’t care what kind of work you do. If that’s how you feel when you’re at work, you run the risk of diminishing the quality of work that you put out.”

Due to the alarming nature of the survey compounded by the lack of a “meaningful” response, Mosley said the firefighters union felt obligated to release these results to its members, as well as the public, hence a recent wave of Facebook postings.

“We were hoping that, OK, now that we have the collective voice of members in this report that it would carry more significance with the people that we were trying to work with. And it really hasn’t,” Mosley said. “I think we spent well over a year trying to handle this in a way that was out of the public eye, that was collaborative, and we don’t feel like we made any meaningful progress. So now, here we are, unfortunately, taking this step to be more public about it.”

City's response

The City of Worcester released the following statement:

“The City of Worcester has demonstrated a strong commitment to the opportunities outlined in the 2021 ESCI report which has resulted in many positive changes in the daily operations of the Worcester Fire Department. The overall health and safety of the membership is a priority for the City’s administration, balancing the needs of the community with the needs of the department. Membership remains steadfastly dedicated to the public they serve and to the oath they take as a Worcester Firefighter.”

The statement then made a shift to address stalled labor contract negotiations.

“In December of 2023, Local 1009 filed for arbitration with the Joint Labor Management Committee, triggering the collective bargaining process for a successor contract. We understand this can be a long and frustrating process for Department members who serve the community every day. It is the goal of the municipality to finish this process as quickly as possible with a positive outcome that benefits all parties,” the statement concludes.

On Facebook, the union took offense with the City of Worcester’s attempt to link the release of the survey to contract negotiations.

“To be clear, the request for this survey was made over 1 year ago, 6 months prior to contract negotiations. The survey was conducted to get an accurate depiction from our members of the current climate within the Worcester Fire Dept.,” the posting states. “L1009 wanted this to remain private, with the hope that these issues could be resolved behind closed doors. After months of no change, we found it necessary to go public.”

Since the release of the study, members of Local 1009 have experienced few improvements, according to the union.

Decline in working conditions, morale

Overall, union members have noticed a significant decline in working conditions, morale and safety of our firefighters, the union states.

Furthermore, Worcester firefighters have witnessed a major decline in the safety of the residents whom they have swore an oath to protect, according to the union.

“Our goal is to seek a change that changes the working environment for our members so that we can be more comfortable, more supported and free from any angst or fear,” Mosley said. “The Local 1009 members, we don’t take this stuff lightly and we don’t want the citizens of Worcester to feel that they are any less protected. We’re still going to show up and do our best to serve the citizens of the Worcester. We enjoy the work. We see the value and purpose in it. And we’re happy and proud to be in this position.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester firefighters union members don't trust chiefs, survey says