Ken Parker Contributes to Award-Winning TAB Editorial Page

Newton TAB Editor Gail Spector announced on the their blog recently the details of the paper's recent New England Press Association Award.  According to Gail, it was the paper's April 4th, 2007 editorial pages which drew the accolade.  Included among the contributors that day was Alderman Ken Parker with an op/ed about the Newton Firefighters entitled, "Firefighters Deserve Better."  Here's an excerpt:.

While many Newton residents are aware that our firefighters have been without a contract for nearly four years, there remains a great deal of information about the situation of which many in our community are not aware. If the only problem regarding the treatment of our firefighters were a collective bargaining impasse, the situation would have likely been resolved long ago.

In fact, the entire contract dispute would probably never have taken place were it not for the administration falsely singling out of Newton firefighters as “abusers of sick time,” rather than using the standard applied in every other department in the city: individual employees are taken at their word when they call in sick unless they have past problems.

Nearly every union in the city has some kind of provision in its contract requiring employees to provide evidence of illness when they call in sick. The difference is that for everyone other than the firefighters, that provision is only applied in problem cases.

This contract dispute is only one part of the pattern of poor treatment to which our firefighters have been subjected. Specifically: (click here for the rest of the letter)

Newton Firefighters' struggle with the current Administration is one that has become somewhat lost amidst the debate about Newton North and the City's financial situation.  It's important to remember that it's still out there; our firefighters have gone five years without a new contract or a pay raise.  Ken Parker has been a long-time advocate for these public servants and, if elected mayor, would work to solve this problem very soon after taking office in 2010.

Congratulations to the TAB journalists for their editing and writing success!

 ~Shawn