The ongoing battle between Mayor Kasim Reed and public safety unions over pay has reached new heights: Atlanta’s police and fire unions have erected a billboard declaring Reed “does not care about public safety.”
Reed slammed the sign near Turner Field as a “stunt” and said he’s considering posting his own billboards across the city in defense of his record, which includes giving raises to police officers and firefighters during his tenure, bolstering the Atlanta Police Department’s rosters and upgrading the city’s public safety equipment.
It's the latest salvo in a two-year conflict between Reed and sworn officers that started when the unions backed a legal challenge against the mayor's 2011 pension reform. The fight worsened in recent weeks after public safety workers were left out of 3.5 percent raises the Atlanta City Council awarded to many of the city's workers.
Reed has refused to grant new raises to the city's public safety workers as long as they remain embroiled in the class action lawsuit that the mayor says could cost the city tens of millions in restitution. The lawsuit, which represents all city workers, is now before the Georgia Supreme Court after the plaintiffs appealed a 2014 Fulton Superior Court judge's decision.
At issue is whether the city acted lawfully when it increased employee contributions without giving workers an added benefit, something Reed has said was critical to securing the city’s financial future.
The mayor has accused the public safety unions of “breaking faith” over the pension reform, which they originally supported. Reed also said he won’t be “extorted or threatened or intimidated” by the billboard, located off of University Avenue near I-75.
“You can’t have it both ways,” Reed said, referring to asking for a raise while suing the city. “No person at home would be able to do that on their jobs.”
Stephen Borders, president of the Atlanta Professional Firefighters union, said the groups decided to post the billboard to raise awareness among Atlantans over the stalemate, which he said is causing many police officers and firefighters to leave their respective forces.
He wants to meet with Reed over the issue, he said, but not if dropping the lawsuit is a prerequisite.
“The court is the only relief we have when we have a mayor who won’t talk to us,” he said. “I would love to sit down and figure out a solid business approach to resolve this. I hate the public campaign and that the only way we can share words is in the media.”
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