The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang GOT MORE BEES WITH HONEY: Departing Uniformed Fire Officers Association President John J. McDonnell said that he relied on his decades-long relationships with staff chiefs and Fire Department leaders to work out problems that arose between the union and FDNY management, contrasting that style with the more-confrontational approach of Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy.

John J. McDonnell will step down as president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association in September rather than seek a new term amid flagging support from fellow board members.

 

Despite making himself a lame duck, the Battalion Chief with 36 years in the Fire Department continues to speak with state lawmakers about mounting an override effort against Governor Paterson's veto of extending Tier 2 pension benefits for future firefighters and police. He also has bread-and-butter issues to work on, such as fine-tuning the new dental plan for fire officers.

Lost Majority Support

Mr. McDonnell was elected interim president of the UFOA in July 2007 after Peter Gorman departed to become chief of staff of its parent union, the International Association of Fire Fighters, in Washington, D.C. He was then elected to a full term that September, and again last year. He announced last month that he would not seek re-election when he realized that he would not have four board members' votes in addition to his own on the nine-member governing body. The rank and file elects the board members, who in turn choose the president from among themselves.

STEVE CASSIDY: Defends aggressive style.

And so he will return to the field, most likely, he said, at his old location at Battalion 11 on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

 

Mr. McDonnell's term has been a tumultuous one. A month after he became president for the second time (he previously served a decade ago), a fire at the Deutsche Bank building across from the World Trade Center site, which was undergoing a controversial simultaneous abatement and demolition, killed two Firefighters. As a result of the FDNY's failure to inspect the site for more than a year, seven officers were disciplined last month.

Battled Against Closings

In the run-up to this year's budget agreement between Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council, the UFOA fought the department's threat to close 16 fire companies. Mr. McDonnell also joined the Uniformed Firefighters Association and the families of several firefighters who died on 9/11 to campaign against former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's run for president last year.

In an interview at the union's office near City Hall June 30, Mr. McDonnell said that over his latest term in office the UFOA could say it was successful on several fronts. The union was able to make a case debunking Mr. Giuliani's 9/11 record in public, and the fire company closings were averted. Even in the Deutsche Bank case, while Mr. McDonnell said that his members were scapegoats and that top FDNY leadership needed to be held accountable, the seven officers received what he called "lenient" reprimands, with none of them losing their jobs or pay.

'Protected Job and Pensions'

"We succeeded in representing our members who were punished as a result of the Deutsche Bank," he said. "My primary responsibility is to protect their jobs and their pensions, and we've done that."

Throughout his term, Mr. McDonnell often took a calmer and less-confrontational approach towards FDNY management than his UFA counterpart, Steve Cassidy. During his term in office, when asked about FDNY policies that both Firefighters and fire officers opposed, Mr. McDonnell usually replied that his union would examine the problem and then talk to department officials in hopes of coming to compromise—a noted contrast to Mr. Cassidy's favorite response: "It's a disgrace."

Style Clash Had Drawbacks

Mr. McDonnell, who described his relationships with Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano as "cordial and constructive," said that Mr. Cassidy's feisty style often got in the way of his more-conciliatory approach.

"You create animosity with the staff. It can sometimes have a negative impact on the officers' union," he said.

The Battalion Chief noted that in the uniformed services there has historically been a better relationship between superior officers' unions and management than exists for agency brass and the front-line union, often because the members of the officers' unions are older and have known the staff chiefs for longer periods of time.

"I've known most of the staff officers for decades, and it certainly enhances my ability to get along with them," Mr. McDonnell said. "Occasionally, there are moments you have to rein in your emotions, take a step back and find a more-moderate approach in order to reach a comfortable compromise. That's always been my personality."

Cassidy Fires Back

Mr. Cassidy responded in a statement, "The job of a labor leader is to fight for your members even if that requires taking on friends who are now in management. The UFA has in fact mixed it up with management, but our loyalties lie with our members and not the Fire Commissioner and his staff."

UFOA Sergeant-at-Arms Richard Alles said that Mr. McDonnell's softer style was his main weakness, causing him to not get enough done. He added that fire officers had called him to express disappointment about the Deutsche Bank building fire disciplines.

"Officers need a stronger hand in dealing with MetroTech," Deputy Chief Alles said, referring to the FDNY's downtown Brooklyn headquarters.

He balked when asked whether he would seek the presidency in September, but noted that he has disagreed with Mr. McDonnell on several occasions.

"The union is in desperate need of a president willing to stand up to the Fire Commissioner and his staff when they are wrong, as well as working together in true labor-management fashion for the mutual interest of our members, which is health and safety and a protection of their individual rights," he said.

Too Easy on Subordinates?

Chief McDonnell believes that one of the biggest problems for his members wasn't that there was too much friction between officers and Firefighters, but that relations were too friendly. When Firefighters did something wrong, he said, fire officers often tried to be the "nice guy" and not harshly discipline company members, which would usually be cause for a disciplinary action against that officer, but not the Firefighters.

"There's such a close relationship within the firehouse with the officers and the Firefighters that you develop a camaraderie, and when a rank-andfile member runs into a problem you would look to find the easiest way to correct the situation, and sometimes that can be in conflict with written rules and regulations," Mr. McDonnell said. "The officer is always the one who ultimately is going to suffer the consequences. 'Failure to supervise'; that's the charge that they use quite commonly."

Mr. McDonnell's term in office has also been marked by lobbying members of Congress to advance the James Zadroga Act, a bill that would secure permanent medical monitoring and treatment for 9/11 responders, and the City Council to pass a budget last month that averted the closing of 16 fire companies.

Sued by 'Marine' Members

The union under Mr. McDonnell also became the target of a lawsuit brought by 13 FDNY Marine Division officers last year. They alleged that they were wrongfully excluded from a 12-percent raise for Special Operations Command and Hazardous Materials Unit officers under the current five-year wage agreement. That deal provided 4-percent raises in each year. The union leader said at the time that negotiations had been tough but the outcome alleviated some of the problems created by the union's last contract, when it was forced to reduce starting pay for Lieutenants and Supervising Fire Marshals in order to match the 5-percent raises won by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association in arbitration for incumbents in those and higher ranks.

Caught in Cross-Fire

Mr. McDonnell's first stint at the UFOA helm was marked by frequent clashes with then-Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen. In September 1998 he was replaced by Deputy Chief Arthur Parrinello following an election in which Mr. Von Essen was believed to have played a behind-thescenes role.

The UFOA board will elect a new president in September.

Mr. McDonnell added that he looked forward to trading in his suit for an FDNY uniform, but that the transition will take a bit of getting used to.

"It's kind of like getting back on a bicycle," he said.