McAllen pays for union trip

McALLEN — Taxpayers will send four firefighters on an all-expenses-paid trip to San Diego next month for a union convention, a junket guaranteed by their contract with the city.

McAllen Firefighters Association Local 2602, which represents 142 of the city’s firefighters, billed taxpayers more than $7,000 for the union’s 2008 convention in Las Vegas. While attending conventions, the firefighters receive regular wages from the union’s “business leave pool,” according to the union contract.

“I really don’t know of any other city that does that,” said Bettye Lynn, an employment lawyer with the firm Lynn, Pham and Ross in Fort Worth. Lynn, an expert on union contracts who has spent 20 years negotiating on behalf of cities, said she had never heard of such a stipulation.

“I’d say it's very generous and it’s not the norm,” she said.

Union rules allow two delegates to represent Local 2602 in San Diego. The other two firefighters appear to be alternates. McAllen has already paid a $1,000 registration fee — $250 per person — for the upcoming convention, according to city records.

Neither city officials nor union leaders would comment on the trip, citing ongoing negotiations over a new contract. Ground rules for the talks prohibit either side from speaking about anything covered by the contract, including the trip, unless both sides agree to a joint statement.

The current contract, which leaves McAllen footing the bill, expires Oct 1.

“I think it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars, as usual,” said Karol Montes, the wife of a retired union firefighter and chairwoman of the activist group Citizens for a Better and Safer McAllen. “Why in the world are we paying for them to go on their jaunt?”

During 2008, four firefighters — Amado Cano, Cesar Cadena, Marcos Hernandez and Roberto Martinez — flew to Las Vegas for the International Association of Fire Fighter’s 49th convention, according to city records. They rented a car and stayed six nights at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Each firefighter received $48 per day for food, and the city covered everything from the convention’s registration fee to gas and parking for the rental car.

This year, four firefighters — Hector Bennett, Mark Zamora, Marcos Hernandez and Roberto Martinez — are scheduled to attend the six-day San Diego convention, which begins Aug. 22.

Rooms at the International Association’s “headquarters hotel,” the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, start at $259 per night.

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Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4452.