Tampa firefighters' pay request shameless

The recession has cost the city of Tampa tens of millions in tax dollars, caused City Hall to slash hundreds of jobs and forced cuts in public services. But try to tell that to Tampa firefighters. Just months after milking the city for raises averaging 9 percent, the union is back at the trough for another 8.5 percent increase. Tampa's City Council should stand with Mayor Pam Iorio and insist enough is enough.

The firefighters' request would be egregious in flush times; at the moment, it is shameless. At a time when millions are losing jobs, and millions more are losing homes, retirements and savings, the idea that a public employees' union would be so tone-deaf helps explain citizens' backlash against government spending.

The firefighters have asked for a 5 percent cost of living raise, plus merit raises averaging 3.5 percent. Iorio has agreed to the merit raise, which itself is too much. She wants to limit the cost of living adjustment to 3 percent. If the COLA is meant to sustain real wage gains — and not act as a shadow raise — that figure should be zero. Prices for consumer goods are getting cheaper. The Labor Department reported that consumer prices in October fell 1 percent.

The Iorio administration has been very generous to the firefighters even in these tough times. But council members, eager to placate the politically powerful union, broke last year's contract impasse and agreed to pay the union what the city could not afford. City staff members warned this would happen; now look who is back for more money. The City Council has a responsibility to present a united front with the mayor and insist that the union show some restraint.