Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday gave city staff members largely positive feedback on their preliminary plans to correct a projected $6.6 million deficit in the 2026 budget.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Happy Labor Day! The holiday is rooted in the late 19th-century labor movement and honors the sacrifices of workers. We reached out to some Lawrence union leaders and organizers to find out how to go about unionizing a workplace here.
”With Lawrence city management now recommending to staff each fire truck in the city with one fewer firefighter every day, the safety of the average citizen and the safety of first responders are now at risk,” Eric Lynch of IAFF Local 1596 writes in this column.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Firefighter-medics on Tuesday emphasized the worst-nightmare moments they see on a regular basis as they pleaded with the Lawrence City Commission to fund staffing levels the same way the city has in years past.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Lawrence has been short a fire engine most of the day Thursday, and firefighters expect that to happen again — maybe as soon as this weekend — because of staffing shortages and overtime cuts.
”It is understandable that everybody has different priorities, but we can assume that public safety is high on almost everybody’s list. This is why your Lawrence Professional Firefighters have confidence in the three incumbent candidates,” the IAFF Local 1596 executive board writes in this column.
”More than a decade of increased workload and city/county growth without increased help has left our first responders at their breaking point,” Eric Lynch, of IAFF Local 1596, writes in this column.
