Dear Editor,
I agree with Skip Bloom that
”
Firefighters Put It All On The Line For Us.
”
But the question is how often? Once a day? Once a week? Once a
month? Once a year?
Dear Editor,
I agree with Skip Bloom that “Firefighters Put It All On The Line For Us.” But the question is how often? Once a day? Once a week? Once a month? Once a year? I don’t think that an INDIVIDUAL Gilroy firefighter puts his life on the line as often as people think that they do (Gilroy is NOT New York City).
I see that the firefighters are compensated extremely well for the hours that they put in according to a recent article in the Dispatch.
Earning $100,000 per year (plus benefits) for being on the job for two weeks out of the month is more than adequate monetary compensation.
They are the only profession that I can think of where they get paid while they are eating and sleeping.
Let’s sit back in our easy chair and pretend that we are 65 years old and about to retire. What assets do we have to do this? Social Security is one asset and 401K is another.
But wait a minute … the stock market just tanked and we can’t afford to retire. We may have to continue working or at best get a part-time job.
Now, just pretend that you are a firefighter also age 65. You have been receiving retirement pay for 15 years now, and life is good. You are collecting a guaranteed income of 90 percent of your salary for life.
The stock market could crash like it did in 1929, but you don’t really care because it doesn’t affect you.
Taxpayers of Gilroy – Does this seem fair to you? I know that at times they put their life on the line, but does this warrant a benefit as generous as this?
The city of Gilroy has an out if the negotiations with the firefighters over pay and benefits goes like I think it will. The city can declare bankruptcy.
All the contracts of this type will be null and void and a judge will decide if the firefighters should get the benefits that they are getting now.
Some of the airlines had to declare bankruptcy because their income (like the city of Gilroy) could not support the overly generous benefits that their unions had negotiated.
This issue is very important to the economic well being of Gilroy.
So mail, FAX, drop a note at their office or e-mail your opinions to the Dispatch. I hope the response is so overwhelming that the Dispatch has to add two to three pages to the opinion section.
Fred Mikrut, Gilroy
