Scrutiny of allowing full time IAFF local president provides media lesson

In Hillsborough County, Florida the president of IAFF Local 2294, Derrick Ryan, is a full-time union president, making $102.000 per year. This means, like in many other jurisdictions around the country, Hillsborough County pays the IAFF president to concentrate on union business and not work as a firefighter. It’s an arrangement that isn’t all that unusual and is part of the collective bargaining agreement Local 2294 negotiated with county officials. That means it was ratified by the union membership and approved unanimously by the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners.

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So, if it this all legal and something everyone agreed on and is comfortable with, why are they running from this decision when a news reporter starts asking questions about the arrangement?

Instead of explaining their justification for doing things this way, the union president bolted from a reporter and the county officials acted dumb. Really?

Does anyone think this makes the arrangement look better by being seen on camera running away or not acknowledging your approval of the contract?

I’ve said this many times before but I guess it needs repeating. If you made a decision that some see as controversial defend it if you believe in it and can justify what you’ve done. If it’s a bad decision, correct it right away, explain what you’ve done and move on. Running, hiding or pretending not to know what you did are not tactics that will make you look good.

It’s interesting to note that while Derrick Ryan avoided talking to the reporter, Local 2294 is not avoiding the topic completely. They did post the story by WTSP reporter Mike Deeson on the homepage of the union website (image below).