Board of Directors Houston Texas Fire Fighters FCU learn more. Jasper Scherer covers Texas politics and government for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. No injuries or fatalities were reported in the fire, which was caused by a lightning strike and displaced 12 families, including six with students in Clear Creek ISD schools. "You do have to give him credit for being very effective in pushing through the popular vote, essentially overcoming the numerous hurdles Turner placed in his path.". As his fans cheered him election night, he was unapologetic for any potential fallout. Join others and make your gift to Houston Public Media today. Asked about the indefinite suspension, Lancton said Turner, who appointed Pea, is trying to make a political statement that this is what he does to his political enemies.. Immediately upon taking office, however, Mayor Turner led an effort to cut fire fighter pensions and has fought pay raises for fire fighters ever since. Texas manhunt for Francisco Oropesa: Community members on edge following reported sighting in Montgomery Co. WINDOWS SMASHED: Every single car 'maybe 20 or 30 cars' with busted windows on a single Houston street, Shocking details revealed during 'Doomsday mom' Lori Vallow's murder trial: Live updates, Harris County mother arrested, accused of leaving her 3 children home alone for an hour. Do I want a reduction in service? Lancton ended his shift just hours before the fire and arrived at the hospital to find nurses wheeling a friend's body into a private room. Marty Lancton was fired back in January, but an arbitrator said the city was wrong to do it. Sky-Eagle was elected in October 2013 to a three-year term. "That's not anything like a business. "He's fighting from the bottom up he's fighting from his rank up. In March 2017 she was elected 6 th vice president, and elected 2 nd vice president in September 2020. NEW YORK . Pena says it was never signed by Lancton, which Lancton disputes. "The rate of substance abuse, PTSD and exhaustion, and the absolute worst morale we've seen in the history of the Houston Fire Department is real, right now, today," said Lancton. I don't know how anybody can do a job under these conditions.". The city of Houston Thursday confirmed it has suspended union president Marty Lancton indefinitely, which is government speak for a firing. Until Turner took office in 2016, Houston Local 341 had successfully negotiated with the city. FOX 26 Reporter Greg Groogan spoke with Firefighter Union President Marty Lancton and a retired Houston Fire Department District Chief about whether the city does have enough first responders to protect its residents. The chief said Lancton never returned the MOU, which meant he no longer was exempt from working his day-to-day firefighter job. Oops! In a written statement, Lancton said his duties as president are not changing and suggested he would take legal action. The letter says Lancton was told of the violation on Dec. 3, the day his pay was initially docked. We're in the process of transitioning services for our Today in Houston newsletter. Why are Texans electricity bills so high right now? City leaders initially tried to deny death benefits for his relatives, a move that galled Lancton, his fellow cadets and the rest of the rank-and-file. He previously reported in Philadelphia and Maryland and spent two years in the Peace Corps in Paraguay. Mayor Sylvester Turner recently told council members he intends to lay off up to 400 firefighters to fund the pay raises mandated by Prop. 95 of 105 Houston . Resources like these are made possible by the generosity of our community of donors, foundations, and corporate partners. Pena said the effort stemmed . FOX 26's Greg Groogan explains more on the upcoming court decision. Union: Cameras recording in Old Saybrook cars is 'like spying' Join others and make your gift to Houston Public Media today. However, the voter-approved measure granting firefighters pay parity with police was barely in effect before it was suspended by a State District Court Judge and has been locked in litigation ever since, undermining the claim that Prop B has been a constraint, financial or otherwise, on HFD recruitment or training over the past three and a half years. His letter said he was stepping down because of "threatening emails" and subsequent threats of "imminent violence" against him and his family. Out in the crowd, two relatively new firefighters looked on, nodding approvingly. Lancton has been at the center of the fight with the city over pensions and pay. In an email last November, Pea wrote to Lancton that he did not sign or respond about your intentions to accept the MOU and informed him the offer was no longer on the table. Lancton said he had, in fact, signed the memorandum and accused Pea of retaliation and intimidation and making false statements., Pea emailed in response: I am not sure why you keep mentioning intimidation or retaliation. It's disgusting," said Lancton. His mother, Barbara, a local swim coach, died when he was nine years old. Now in his second mayoral term, Turner remains the only Houston mayor to fail to reach a collectively bargained contract with fire fighters. Some doubt Turner's resolve, others refuse to back down. The fire union has appealed the ruling. the president of the . 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"We not only differ, but we believe he is going above and beyond his authority as president," Wilkey said. On Monday morning, an arbitrator ruled the city was wrong to fire Marty Lancton for disciplinary reasons in January. Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, speaks at a press conference held at the entrance to the City Hall Annex building, in downtown Houston in August 2017. After voters approved Prop B by a 19-point margin the police union sued, saying it was unconstitutional. He and his brothers attended Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, a local all-boys Catholic school with more than 1,000 pupils. 'I don't belong here': ABC13 sits with Texas widow accused of murder, Fog returns overnight, rain chance returns by the end of the week, Hurricane Season: What to do before, during and after a storm. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. Many blamed low morale and higher wages in surrounding cities. "Brothers and sisters, families and supporters and friends, the voters of Houston have spoken," he said. "We've got work to do," Fire Chief Rick Flanagan told the Houston Chronicle in his first extensive interview since being named acting chief by Mayor Annise Parker on Jan. 19. He threw himself into training, earning a reputation for his outspoken presence by encouraging others on training runs, finagling better assignments for his squad and letting other cadets routinely crash at his house. Houston Retired Firefighters Association and is board president for . "This Fire Chief unilaterally and this Mayor have taken every union-busting chapter in the playbook and applied it," said Lancton. At one point, a pipe-and-drum corps began playing, bagpipes blaring. Chris Vacek - In Memory of R.C. Houston Firefighter Union President Marty Lancton Reacts To Turner's