HOUSTON – There was more back-and-forth on Wednesday between Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston Fire Department.
The pay parity battle over Proposition B has fire cadets waiting to be sworn in. The 47 men and women began their training approximately nine months ago and had marked this date to be sworn in, but they are now the second class since November not to be sworn in by Turner.
The Houston Fire Department Union said this is all the result of the battle over Prop B -- a proposition voters overwhelmingly approved but that Turner continues to fight the fire department on.
The union president for the Houston Fire Department told Channel 2 Investigates the cadets who have been trained and certified as firefighters and EMS are falling victim to political games being played by Turner.
Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association was critical of the mayor as he spoke outside of Houston's City Hall. “This is not how you lead one of the largest cities in the country," Lancton said. "This mayor has taken it to a new low, continues to use litigation instead of leading and now uses cadets as political pawns,” he said.
Channel 2 Investigates did want to ask Turner about the cadets not getting sworn in, however, the mayor walked out on his weekly news conference with the media.
The mayor’s communications team said it was a scheduling issue as a result of city council running long on Wednesday.
We did ask his communications team if the mayor was potentially able to still meet with Channel 2 late Wednesday or Thursday. The mayor’s communication’s team was unable to secure as to when mayor Turner might be available.
