Issac Fleming
ID: 010936896
Date 8/29/24
C234 Task 2
A: Causes of workplace conflicts.
1) One of the causes of conflict between the city's firefighters and the city's management is the loss of
financial security from overtime pay to the firefighter union. This came from direct orders from the
mayor to have an immediate and substantial reduction in overtime pay to help subsidies the financial
need to hire new firefighters. The reason the firefighters were taking on so much overtime was because
the local 102 firefighters were understaffed due to hiring failure in the first place. To no fault of their
own, they were the ones that stepped up to the challenge and work all those extra hours, which took
them away from their families and other lively responsibilities. Now that there is no more overtime; the
firefighters, who got accustomed to the additional money and took on more financial responsibilities
because of the increase in pay, are getting the short end of the stick because they are the ones suffering
now. With the overtime being eliminated, the firefighters will now face potential financial hardship for
not being able to live and pay for their current living situation that they were accustomed to.
2) A second cause of conflict between the city's firefighters and the city's management is the
embarrassment factor that the mayor felt when a front-page article got released stating that firefighters
were making more money than the mayor himself. Nothing more than a "butt hurt" feeling which led to
firefighters losing their financial livelihood. Not only was the mayor embarrassed, but the firefighters
must have felt a bit of embarrassment as well. They are seasoned, skilled, and experienced firefighters
which were able to handle the entire area by themselves. Now that they are getting 25 green firefighters,
they will have to go from fighting fires and rescuing people to babysitting the new guys.
, 3) A third cause of conflict between the city's firefighters and the city's management is the lack of
communication for such an impactful decision. The management of the city did not hold a public
meeting for the locals to come share their thoughts, nor were there any form of notification that went to
the local firefighters about the meeting. The local 102 did not get a chance to stand their ground, voice
their concerns or opinions, or were given the chance to come up with a better solution to such drastic
changes.
B: Possible short-term outcomes.
1) The worst possible outcome of the short-term conflicts would be a union "sick out," which can't
legally be called a strike because that requires courts approval. The local area is already in a job shortage
for firefighters, if the current local 102 decides to go on strike they would be putting themselves and the
entire city at risk. Roaring fires, vehicle accidents, and people is distress would all be unattended to if
there were no one around to help. The city wouldn't be able to function properly without the backbone
of the local 102.
2) Another possible outcome of the short-term conflicts would be the lack of training if new hires were
to join the local 102 after the academy. Experienced firefighters have a duty to train the new hires for
one year without pay after the recruit graduates from the academy. The local union president cannot
guarantee that the firefighters will abide by the no pay training situation unless things get resolved.
C: Possible long-term outcomes.
1) One possible long-term outcome would be low to non-existent morale amongst the firefighter union.
Everyone on a jobsite talks to each other on a daily basis, therefore leading to a domino effect of
emotions and malice towards the city. The experience firefighters would talk to the greenhorns and their
attitudes will trickle down and start to affect everyone around them. Everyone would be walking around
with poor attitudes which would end up causing a hostile environment to be a part of.
ID: 010936896
Date 8/29/24
C234 Task 2
A: Causes of workplace conflicts.
1) One of the causes of conflict between the city's firefighters and the city's management is the loss of
financial security from overtime pay to the firefighter union. This came from direct orders from the
mayor to have an immediate and substantial reduction in overtime pay to help subsidies the financial
need to hire new firefighters. The reason the firefighters were taking on so much overtime was because
the local 102 firefighters were understaffed due to hiring failure in the first place. To no fault of their
own, they were the ones that stepped up to the challenge and work all those extra hours, which took
them away from their families and other lively responsibilities. Now that there is no more overtime; the
firefighters, who got accustomed to the additional money and took on more financial responsibilities
because of the increase in pay, are getting the short end of the stick because they are the ones suffering
now. With the overtime being eliminated, the firefighters will now face potential financial hardship for
not being able to live and pay for their current living situation that they were accustomed to.
2) A second cause of conflict between the city's firefighters and the city's management is the
embarrassment factor that the mayor felt when a front-page article got released stating that firefighters
were making more money than the mayor himself. Nothing more than a "butt hurt" feeling which led to
firefighters losing their financial livelihood. Not only was the mayor embarrassed, but the firefighters
must have felt a bit of embarrassment as well. They are seasoned, skilled, and experienced firefighters
which were able to handle the entire area by themselves. Now that they are getting 25 green firefighters,
they will have to go from fighting fires and rescuing people to babysitting the new guys.
, 3) A third cause of conflict between the city's firefighters and the city's management is the lack of
communication for such an impactful decision. The management of the city did not hold a public
meeting for the locals to come share their thoughts, nor were there any form of notification that went to
the local firefighters about the meeting. The local 102 did not get a chance to stand their ground, voice
their concerns or opinions, or were given the chance to come up with a better solution to such drastic
changes.
B: Possible short-term outcomes.
1) The worst possible outcome of the short-term conflicts would be a union "sick out," which can't
legally be called a strike because that requires courts approval. The local area is already in a job shortage
for firefighters, if the current local 102 decides to go on strike they would be putting themselves and the
entire city at risk. Roaring fires, vehicle accidents, and people is distress would all be unattended to if
there were no one around to help. The city wouldn't be able to function properly without the backbone
of the local 102.
2) Another possible outcome of the short-term conflicts would be the lack of training if new hires were
to join the local 102 after the academy. Experienced firefighters have a duty to train the new hires for
one year without pay after the recruit graduates from the academy. The local union president cannot
guarantee that the firefighters will abide by the no pay training situation unless things get resolved.
C: Possible long-term outcomes.
1) One possible long-term outcome would be low to non-existent morale amongst the firefighter union.
Everyone on a jobsite talks to each other on a daily basis, therefore leading to a domino effect of
emotions and malice towards the city. The experience firefighters would talk to the greenhorns and their
attitudes will trickle down and start to affect everyone around them. Everyone would be walking around
with poor attitudes which would end up causing a hostile environment to be a part of.
