KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Members of the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department union protested outside of the department's headquarters on Tuesday morning.
Local 64 members protested against what they call poor working conditions and against the department's leadership.
The move came as the union submitted a vote of no confidence against Deputy Chief Jack Andrade. Just last year, the union also did the same for KCK Fire Chief Michael Callahan.
Members told KSHB 41 News the protests isn't about contracts, but rather working relationships with command staff and policies and procedures currently in place.
This includes things like response times and resource allocations.
"The working conditions of the fire department drastically need to improve right now," JJ Simma, president of IAFF Local 64, said. "There's been a number of issues of dishonesty to the members, to the public, to city leaders, hostile working conditions, retaliation and even the threat of violence."
The union is calling for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, to investigate the fire administration.
The department called the union's allegations "unsubstantiated," but did say its committed to working with the union.
"The KCKFD is committed to providing the highest level of customer service and resources to our community and members," the department said in a statement. "Our mission is to save lives and protect property through fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous materials incidents and community risk reduction. We are dedicated to the the safety and welfare of all our members as well as the community we proudly serve."
It also said it's taken steps to support the union like:
- Adding more crews on the scene of fires
- Upgrading equipment
- Upgrading fire pumpers
- Implementing new training
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