Dear Mr. Mannix and Members of IAFF Local 1347:
Thank you for reaching out to the candidates in the upcoming town elections regarding their position on the outstanding Watertown Firefighters contract. I must respectfully decline to complete the enclosed questionnaire on this issue prepared by the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts (PFFM) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) given the lawsuit filed by IAFF Local 1347 on March 19, 2015 against the Town of Watertown in which I was named as a defendant.
My record as a District B Councilor and life-long Democrat clearly indicates my support for the Town’s 12 unions and the collective bargaining process. During my tenure as District B Councilor, I have consistently supported policies and budgets that will provide salaries and benefits to all the Town’s union employees commensurate with those in our peer communities. I take extremely serious the Council’s role as the fiscal authority for Watertown; and in that role, I was one of 8 Councilors who voted against the non-binding arbitration decision on Dec. 9, 2014.
I will continue to urge the administration and Local 1347 to come to an agreement on this outstanding contract.
Thank you for all you do for our community.
Sincerely Yours,
Cecilia Lenk
District B Councilor
Click here to see the Firefighters Union letter and questionnaire, and the response to it from another Town Councilor.
Councilor Lenk – I appreciate you letting us know your reason for not being able to fill out the survey. I also appreciated it when you replied to me directly. I don’t understand why you find it necessary to respond through the news paper. The good news is we have plenty of candidates respond that are interested in honoring collective bargaining. I too hope for a resolution in this mess of a situation. That is why Locsl 1347 has come back to the table with offers that would save Watertown money on more than one occasion. This is a fact that does not seem to be brought up by the current Council . Once again, thank you four your responses to our survey.
Rob Mannix
Watertown Firefighters