Michigan firefighters call on lawmakers to pass bill that would improve staffing

(CBS DETROIT)In these last days of the legislative session, Michigan firefighters are trying to address the fact that they haven’t been able to negotiate staffing levels for almost 30 years.

In Michigan, House Bill 4688 would provide fire agencies the ability to bargain over staffing levels. According to the Michigan Professional firemen Union, compared to nearby states like Ohio, Michigan now has a much lower number of firemen per capita.

“Firefighters have exhaustion, injury risk, and mental health issues when we don’t have enough personnel. People are being harmed, and our residents are also being harmed,” union president Matthew Sahr stated. “When we’re carrying someone if we don’t have enough people to carry them, say even on a simple EMS run, we could drop a patient causing further injury when it doesn’t need to happen.”

The Michigan Municipal League is among the organizations opposing the bill.

According to Dave Hodgkins, a legislative assistant with the Michigan Municipal League, “the main concern is that it’s simply going to punish municipalities for circumstances that are well outside of their control,” stating that “we obviously want safe staffing levels whether it’s police, fire, or corrections officers.”

According to the union, not much has been done on the measure since it was filed about six months ago. Firefighter Joe Duay said the ability to negotiate is at risk and that the slowdown is very frustrating.

“Let’s discuss it. Let’s check what is secure. Duay responded, “Let’s see what money is there.”

After covering Michigan’s capital for two years, Elle Meyers joined the CBS News Detroit staff in April 2023. Born in Oregon, Elle graduated from the University of Oregon (go Ducks!) with a double major in political science and journalism, two subjects that have helped her along the way to Detroit.

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