Some firefighters needed to work 48-hour shifts just to keep stations open. | Pixabay/Pexels
Some firefighters needed to work 48-hour shifts just to keep stations open. | Pixabay/Pexels
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens promised a pay upgrade to Atlanta firefighters at a recent breakfast event following reports that some had needed to work 48-hour shifts just to keep stations open.
Nate Bailey, president of the Atlanta firefighters union, told members of the city council that younger firefighters have been leaving due to low pay, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
Atlanta pays new recruits $40,000 annually, with veteran members only making up to $55,000, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. In suburban departments, however, veteran firefighters are seeing wages of over $70,000 per year.
"And that has been killing us," Bailey told a reporter after a City Hall budget hearing.
Several members of the Atlanta City Council are on record with intentions of supporting Dickens' plan, which is set to be fleshed out in the near future, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
This comes after Bailey made a speech to the Atlanta City Council where he said staffing had become alarmingly low, with some firefighters barely sleeping, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
"We have 200 vacancies including our recruits," Bailey told the council.
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