Stalled contract jeopardizes relations between new Disney governing physique and firefighters

ORLANDO, Fla. — After appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took over Walt Disney World’s governing district earlier this 12 months, its firefighters had been among the many few workers who publicly welcomed them with open arms.

But that heat relationship is in jeopardy as a brand new district administrator has reopened negotiations on a contract that was authorised final month by the unionized firefighters, promising pay raises and extra manpower.

A vote on the contract initially was focused for final month throughout a gathering of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board of supervisors however it was by no means introduced up, and it didn’t seem on an agenda launched forward of the subsequent assembly scheduled for Wednesday.

Under the three-year contract proposal overwhelmingly authorised by 200 firefighters and first responders, annual beginning pay for firefighters would enhance to $65,000, up from $55,000. It additionally promised hiring as much as three dozen firefighters and paramedics.

At a number of conferences because the DeSantis-appointed supervisors took their seats this spring, Jon Shirey, who leads the firefighters’ union, praised them for visiting firefighters at their stations across the 39 square-mile Disney World property.

The firefighters seemed ahead to collaborating with the brand new supervisors and administrator after years of clashing with their Disney-supporting predecessors, and considered the appointments as “an opportunity for a fresh start,” he mentioned.

“Almost overnight, a change occurred that we have never experienced – transparency, open dialogue, the ability to sit down and have our issues heard and felt listened to,” Shirey instructed board members final month. “You have been able to build bridges that were long burned.”

The feeling was mutual, with board chairman Martin Garcia saying final month that the supervisors had been working with the firefighters to resolve their points. Even so, Garcia made clear that the firefighters weren’t the one district workers the board wished to assist.

“We also need to let the (other) employees know, we love you, too. We care about you. We love you as much as we love our firefighters,” Garcia mentioned.

But the delay in approving the contract has alienated the firefighters’ union, which final 12 months endorsed the gubernatorial reelection marketing campaign of DeSantis, who lately launched a marketing campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

The outdated contract expired 4 years in the past and the firefighters declared an deadlock final 12 months when the district’s board was nonetheless managed by Disney supporters. The Reedy Creek Professional Firefighters, Local 2117 have warned for years that they’re understaffed, which poses a security danger because the central Florida theme park resort grows greater.

Last month, District Administrator John Classe, who initially negotiated the brand new contract, was changed by the board with Glenton Gilzean, a DeSantis ally who beforehand served as president and CEO of the Central Florida Urban League and can obtain a $400,000 wage in his new job. The district is also paying Classe to remain on as a particular advisor.

Board spokesperson Alexei Woltornist mentioned negotiations with the union had been persevering with, with out explaining why they had been reopened with a contract already authorised by the firefighters and first responders.

“Administrator Gilzean is actively working with the fire department to finalize a deal that offers a competitive compensation package and gives firefighters the resources they need to protect the public,” Woltornist mentioned in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Officials with the firefighters’ union didn’t remark.

The DeSantis appointees took over the Disney World governing board earlier this 12 months following a yearlong feud between the corporate and DeSantis. The combat started final 12 months after Disney, beset by important strain internally and externally, publicly opposed a state regulation banning classroom classes on sexual orientation and gender id in early grades, a coverage critics name “Don’t Say Gay.”

As punishment, DeSantis took over the district by way of laws handed by Florida lawmakers and appointed a brand new board of supervisors to supervise municipal companies for the sprawling theme parks and resorts. But earlier than the brand new board got here in, the corporate made agreements with earlier oversight board members that stripped the brand new supervisors of their authority over design and building.

Disney sued DeSantis and the five-member board, asking a federal choose to void the governor’s takeover of the theme park district, in addition to the oversight board’s actions, on the grounds they had been violations of firm’s free speech rights.

The board sued Disney in state courtroom in an effort to keep up its management of building and design at Disney World.

The district was created in 1967 when then-Florida Gov. Claude Kirk signed laws authorizing it to control land use, implement constructing codes, deal with wastewater, management drainage, preserve utilities and supply fireplace safety at Disney World.