It looks like the Oxford Fire Department is going to become a union shop.
The department’s full-time employees voted 8-4 to be represented by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) for collective bargaining purposes, according to Ruthanne Okun, director of the state Bureau of Employment Relations.
Firefighter Darin Balinski, who helped organize the unionization effort, could not be reached for comment.
Fire Chief Pete Scholz declined to comment on the vote.
The next step will be for the municipality and union representatives to sit down and negotiate a contract for the 12 career firefighters.
Prior to the vote, the firefighters made it clear, in a June 14 e-mail to the township board, they are not looking for any increases in wages or benefits.
‘Economically, we are not seeking to achieve anything other than what we currently are receiving. We understand the economic times that everyone is experiencing and definitely do not seek to place an undue burden on the township,? the e-mail stated.
More than 292,000 career firefighters and paramedics in the United States and Canada are represented by the IAFF.
At the state level, Oxford’s firefighters will be represented by the Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union, which has more than 5,000 members in 126 departments across the state.