Monday, February 24, 2020

Union chief who supported Walsh gets new post, and hefty raise

The firefighter who nurtured Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s close relationship with the politically powerful firefighters’ union has quietly assumed a new Fire Department post — with a hefty pay raise. 


CORRUPT WHITE MALE UNION SUPPORTS JOE BIDEN 
© Yoon S. Byun for The Boston Globe Boston Mayor Martin Walsh received a baseball bat from Fire Fighters Union Local 718 president Richard Paris in 2014. The bat had the words "Martin Joseph Walsh, Mayor of Boston, January 6, 2014, Fire Fighters Local 718" inscribed on it.

Richard Paris, the former head of Local 718 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, was named the Fire Department’s director of OSHA compliance last spring. The position pays $171,082 a year, more than other, more high-profile city posts, including Walsh’s chief of staff. And it far exceeds the $108,374 Paris was paid in 2018 as an advance technician for the Fire Department.

Paris received an $88,959 salary in 2013, the year before Walsh was elected with large support from the firefighters’ union. He has been in the new role since April.

The timing of his latest raise could allow Paris, 61, to work for at least three years at the new pay rate before he steps down at the mandatory retirement age for firefighters, age 65. Doing so would allow Paris, under pension rules, to collect 80 percent of the higher pay scale, a significant boost of income heading into retirement.

Paris did not respond to a request for comment on the new position. In February 2019, he said in an interview that he was stepping down as union president for personal reasons, after negotiating his second labor contract with the administration. At that time, he denied department-wide speculation that he was in line for a political appointment at fire headquarters.

Pam Wilmot, head of the government watchdog Common Cause Massachusetts, said there are many factors to be examined when a public employee is awarded a hefty pay raise and new job assignment: Is the appointment justified? Is the pay in line with other similar jobs? And is the person qualified? She was speaking in general and not about Paris, but said such facts matter.

“When people double their salaries in the last three years of their career, it raises flags, but just because there’s smoke doesn’t mean there’s fire,” she said.

But the correlation between Paris’s resignation from the union and the pay boost raises questions of political favoritism, after several harmonious years between firefighters and the administration.

In an interview, Walsh called Paris’s appointment appropriate because of his experience.

“He’s qualified, he’s capable, he’s been a firefighter for 30-plus years,” the mayor said.

Commissioner Joseph Finn, who joined with Paris in supporting Walsh’s election campaign in 2013, also called Paris a fitting candidate for the job, which he said is required by new state law that gives the state Department of Labor Standards more power to enforce federal Occupational Safety, Health, and Administration rules for public sector workplaces.

Paris’s duties involve drawing up department protocol to ensure the department meets new state and federal workplace standards.

“There was a lot of anxiety from the chiefs association and professional firefighters about what this means for us going forward,” said Finn, who appointed Paris to the new post, in an interview.

Last year, Finn said, “no one on the Boston Fire Department had the qualifications to do this.” Since then, he said, Paris has undergone nearly 400 hours of workplace safety training.

When asked why Paris was appointed, he responded, ”Because of his skills.”

“He has the credibility in the firehouses, when he goes out to correct something,” Finn said. “There’s a respect factor, and people know he’s committed to safety, health, and wellness. It felt like a natural fit.”

The job is governed by the Local 718 firefighters’ contract, but it is an appointed position. Finn said the $171,082 salary is comparable to a similar position that is listed in the contract, assistant superintendent of maintenance, though that post is currently open.

The union, a political force with more than 1,500 employees, endorsed the mayor in 2013 and members campaigned on his behalf. Firefighters individually and through their international chapter donated tens of thousands of dollars to Walsh’s campaign.

Months into his new administration, the mayor reached his first agreement for a contract with the union: It was the first firefighters’ contract the city reached since 2001 without going to arbitration, after years of strained relations between the union and Walsh’s predecessor, the late Thomas M. Menino.

Four years later, in 2018, the administration again reached an agreement with the union for a contract that lasts through June 2021; 75 percent of the membership supported it. Paris resigned from the union two months later.

Lately, however, factions in the union have quietly grumbled about their contract and new policies the administration has been implementing, such as more diversity training and wellness programs. In early February, the union sued the administration in state Superior Court, seeking to halt the administration’s new policy of transferring firefighters to light-duty status while their injury claims can be reviewed. A state judge is reviewing the request.

Walsh denied that Paris received a political appointment. He acknowledged that Paris was a supporter but said they were at different ends of the negotiating table and ultimately agreed on a fair contract for both taxpayers and firefighters.

“We fought, we argued, we compromised, and we got two contracts done,” he said.

Paris, the mayor added, "earned the job for doing what he’s done . . . as a firefighter for the City of Boston.”



AdChoices

1
2
3
4

YOU MAY LIKEAd taboola

How people in Edmonton get…
Canada Drives


2016 To 2018 Unsold Cars For Sale To…
Discount Drivers


They Had A Hit In The '60s Then Vanished…
Money Pop


MORE FOR YOU



Only Handymen Can Ace This Quiz! Will You?
Ad QuizGriz



Take A Look At Who CNN's Chris Cuomo Is Married To Today
Ad FinancialAdvisorHeroes



After 44 Years of Hosting 'Wheel of Fortune', This is Pat Sajak's Annual Salary
Ad Healthy George



Sciatic Pain Can be Controlled by Simple Lifestyle Changes
Ad B-cure Canada


Analysis: Bernie Sanders forces a reckoning for Democrats The Washington Post
Election 2020


Dueling Narratives Emerge From Muddied Account of Russia’s… The New York Times
Politics


‘Open, insert, squirt.’ In this town, children are taught to give Narcan The New York Times




Steyer qualifies for South Carolina debate USA TODAY
Election 2020



New incredible pricing - Online Direct Brokerage
Ad nbdb.ca/Direct/Brokerage



115 Years Later, Here's Rockefeller's Net Worth Today
Ad Investing.com



Car Cleaning Tips You'll Wish You Knew Sooner
Ad DailyChoices



PC Owners Urged To Do This Before Logging Off
Ad Experts In Money


Betts makes exhibition debut in Dodgers victory over Cubs Los Angeles Times
MLB


National Security Wiretap System Plagued by Risk of Errors, Omissions The New York Times
Politics


Judge won’t bow out of Roger Stone case POLITICO




Coronavirus highlights the $35 billion vaccine market. Here are the key… CNBC
Markets



New pricing - Direct Brokerage
Ad nbdb.ca/Direct/Brokerage


Trump’s India trip mixes politics with policy, and offers the promise of his… The Washington Post
World


White House Seeks Overhaul of Spying Law The Wall Street Journal.
Politics


US aircraft shot down during World War II have been found 76 years later CNN




U.S. intel briefer may have overstated Russian interference assessment

The US intelligence community's top election security official appears to have overstated the intelligence community's formal assessment of Russian interference in the 2020 election, omitting important nuance during a briefing with lawmakers earlier this month, three national security officials told CNN. CNN
Politics


Seven wounded in shooting at flea market near Houston Reuters
Crime


Katy Perry thanks first responders after collapsing on 'American… ETOnline
Celebrity

Local Officials Start to Push Back on Coronavirus Quarantine Plans The New York Times
US


B. Smith, model-turned-TV host, dies at 70 USA TODAY
TV News


WH expected to ask Congress for coronavirus money CNN




As Kobe memorial nears, Shaq says: 'I'm hurting'

The math was, shall we say, daunting for Kobe Bryant’s first coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. Del Harris had a veteran team with two future All-Stars in his backcourt even before Bryant arrived in the summer of 1996. Harris’s priority was thus ensuring that those two star guards, Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones, had the room to orbit comfortably around the Lakers’ other marquee newcomer entering the 1996-97 season: Shaquille O’Neal. As supremely... The New York Times
NBA


Takeaways from the Nevada caucuses

Senator Bernie Sanders won big on Saturday and is now the clear front-runner. Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. saved enough face to march on to his must-win in South Carolina a week from now. Pete Buttigieg finished in the top tier again and embraced the urgency of knocking down a rising Sanders. The New York Times
Election 2020


Prosecutors’ tensions with DOJ began long before Stone sentencing The New York Times
Politics

Clarence Thomas' wife reportedly leads ‘deep state’ hit list compilation Washington Examiner
Politics

Coronavirus: SKorea raises alert to highest level Reuters
World

New video emerges in missing Idaho children case FOX News
Crime


Losing $450,000 in Three Days: Hackers Trick Victims Into Big Wire…

Someone hijacked Frank Krasovec’s email and asked his assistant to wire thousands of dollars to a Hong Kong account. Fraudsters are stealing billions each year through this type of scam, which uses sophisticated hacking and wire transfers to efficiently move money overseas. The Wall Street Journal.
News


FBI wants to know: Were these Chinese trespassers confused tourists or… NBC News
US

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool







Official Trailer | Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool | American Masters | PBS
Duration: 02:27 
Official website: https://to.pbs.org/2R7jHGy | #MilesDavisPBS The definition of “cool” can be summed up by the name Miles Davis. The quintessential “Renaissance Man” known for his restless artistic aesthetic, is widely regarded as one of the most innovative, influential and highly respected figures in music. Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool premieres Tuesday, February 25th at 9/8c. The full episode will be available to stream online and on the PBS Video app the following day. 

Subscribe to the American Masters channel for more clips: http://bit.ly/1JmUCu5 Enjoy full episodes of your favorite American Masters films: http://www.pbs.org/americanmasters 

FOLLOW AMERICAN MASTERS: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americanmasters Twitter: https://twitter.com/PBSAmerMasters #AmericanMastersPBS Instagram: https://instagram.com/pbsamericanmasters #AmericanMastersPBS 

FOLLOW PBS: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pbs/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ PBSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ PBS Shop: http://www.shop.pbs.org/ He changed the course of music five or six times, remains a fashion and cultural icon, and his globally recognized artwork continues to resonate with multiple generations. He was an extraordinary artist who sacrificed everything for his music – the man with a sound so beautiful it could break your heart. In Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson delves deep into the world of a beloved musical giant.