Politics & Government

Shaker, University Heights Fire Union Leaders' Issues with Merger Unanswered

A union leader told Cleveland.com "there's no established goal and no implementation plan."

Shaker Heights and University Heights leaders want to merge fire departments to share the cost of operation. According to Cleveland.com, a memorandum of understanding was signed by both mayors allowing the formation of a council of governments for the purpose of merging the departments.

The new fire department would be governed by the mayors of both cities, Shaker Heights Mayor Earl M. Leiken said previously. The Shaker Heights-University Heights Fire Department — a name the mayor used but said had not been decided on — would work under a single labor agreement. All of its workers would become employees of just one city, most likely Shaker.

Marty O’Neill, president of the Shaker Heights firefighters union, IAFF Local 516, and John Novosielski, president of the University Heights firefighters union, IAFF Local 974, said they were not informed until Feb. 1 the mayors of both cities had signed the memorandum on Jan. 14, Cleveland.com reports. 

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Susannah Muskovitz, counsel for both the University Heights and Shaker Heights firefighters unions, said that membership was "extremely surprised" when they got notice on Feb. 1 that the initiative would be on councils' agendas in the coming weeks.

"The city's decision to move ahead without them is troubling," she said previously. "They have made it very clear to the mayor and city council and the administration from day one that they want to be part of the process, that they have a lot to offer, that if they're are excluded from the process it could cause problems."

Find out what's happening in Shaker Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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