Members of Annapolis Professional Firefighters Local 1926 returned to the negotiating table with a new proposal last week, after walking out of stalled negotiations on May 1. With the city refusing to meet the firefighters? demand for the same raise offered to, and overwhelmingly accepted by, members of Annapolis? police union, members of Local 1926 are now seeking a higher cost-of-living-adjustment than that offered to police officers and four additional days off each year. The contract dispute has become increasingly political as City Council members rally behind the firefighters, while Mayor Ellen O. Moyer---whose election campaign was supported by the police union and opposed by the firefighters? union---continues to insist that a higher raise was more critical for the police department which has lost a large number of officers to neighboring areas in the past year.
See NELSON HERNANDEZ and MATTHEW MOSK, The Washington Post, May 22, 2002