STOCKTON, Calif. — For the last few years, the Stockton Fire Department has experienced a cycle of staffing shortages and high turnover according to the department and the union that represents firefighters.
10 of the nearly 200 firefighters have left the Stockton Fire Department since January of this year, Stockton Fire Chief Richard Edwards confirmed with ABC10.
The issue will be a focal point of the upcoming contract negotiations.
“We're losing people to other fire departments or having a hard time recruiting good candidates for the Stockton Fire Department and we're having a hard time retaining firefighters,” Stockton Firefighters Local 456 President Mario Gardea told ABC10.
Many of those that are leaving either retire or go to work for other departments shortly after their probation period ends.
"Over the past couple of years, the Stockton Fire Department has been fortunate to hire many new firefighters to fill vacancies created by retirements and resignations," Chief Edwards said. "City leadership and the Fire Department are committed to maintaining full staffing through funding allocations to conduct a minimum of two fire academies annually and hiring to fill all vacancies."
A representative for Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln says the mayor is aware of staffing concerns among public safety departments and declined to comment further as the city is currently in negotiations with the unions representing police officers and firefighters
The firefighter’s union says there is a struggle to keep its staff because better pay is offered by nearby departments.
“It's hard to retain our current employees because we're not competitive when it comes to pay and benefits,” Gardea said. “What's happening is they're actively recruiting our seasoned firefighters, so they're taking their training and their experience, and they're using that as a recruiting tool.”
To make up for the open positions, many Stockton firefighters are working more than their usual 24 or 48-hour shift, Chief Edwards said.
The Stockton Local Firefighters 456 union says longer mandatory shifts have caused department-wide burnout.
"We haven’t even taken into consideration the physical as well as mental toll this is taking on our members that might not come to the surface for years down the road," Richard Diaz, a board member for the Stockton firefights union, said
Both the union and Chief Edwards say with fewer firefighters responding to a high number of calls they worry about the quality of service they are able to provide for the city.
Gardea called Stockton public safety agencies the "Oakland A’s" of public service in California because firefighters go to higher-paying opportunities elsewhere.
“We continue to train members and give them unbelievable experience, just for another city to come in and swoop on an employee because of better pay,” Gardea said.
To combat this cycle of staffing shortages, the Stockton firefighters union is pushing for the city to provide increased pay for firefighters in upcoming negotiations.
"The City of Stockton is currently engaged in the collective bargaining process with the Firefighter’s union, negotiating the terms of a new Memorandum of Understanding," Chief Edwards said. "The current MOU expires on June 30, 2022."
Union representatives said they want competitive wages to keep fire academy graduates at the Stockton department past probationary periods.
“I just think that we're at a crucial point right now when it comes to staffing,” said Gardea. “At some point, if we keep going the way that we're going, that we're going to break."
Watch more from ABC10: Why is Stockton one of the hardest cities to live in?
