Firefighters Press Pay Case Publicly

Firefighters in a salary battle with the Orange County Fire Authority will take their case to the public next week through 50,000 fliers inserted into newspapers and by promoting protests at city council meetings.

About 100 firefighters are expected to gather before the Mission Viejo council meeting Monday night and at Laguna Niguel’s Tuesday night meeting, said John Latta with the Orange County Professional Firefighters Assn. The fliers invite readers to attend on behalf of firefighters.

At issue are salary and benefits for the authority’s 700 full-time firefighters, who the union says are paid about 30% less than comparable departments. The authority, operating on a deficit since its March 1995 inception, imposed a benefits-only raise in July on firefighters, who have worked for two years without a contract.