Teamsters slam ‘despicable’ plan to outsource Stone Park fire department amid unionization attempt

A union is blasting the fire chief for suburban Stone Park after he announced plans to outsource his department staff amid their effort to unionize.

Stone Park Fire Chief Jack Giuffre sent a memo Wednesday to the department’s staff of 13 paramedics and firefighters announcing their work will be taken over by the Melrose Park Fire Department on Jan. 1 in “the best interest of the taxpayers of Stone Park,” Teamsters Local 700 said in a statement.

That memo comes days after the members of the Stone Park fire department took the first step to unionize by filing a majority interest petition Dec. 5 to the Illinois Labor Relations Board, according to T.J. Wilcox, the Local 700 business agent who organized the effort.

“We did not take it lightly filing the petition,” Wilcox said.

Wilcox said the firefighters’ main concerns are staffing levels and worker safety.

In a statement, Stone Park Mayor Ben Mazzulla confirmed that some fire department services would be outsourced but disputed the union’s claim that the entire fire department would be shuttered.

“The memo sent to firefighters states the village is only going to outsource the fire service and not the ambulance service due to the lack of shift coverage. Therefore, no firefighter is losing their job,” Mazzulla said.

A spokesperson for Mazzulla declined to provide a copy of the letter, claiming it was for “personnel only.”

Teamsters president Michael Malone said Stone Park’s move for apparent economic reasons is hypocritical since the department put out a request for applications for new positions on Dec. 2, three days before their petition was filed.

“From our experience, this move is not only despicable but puts the residents of Stone Park at risk,” said Malone, who claimed the move would also mean higher emergency response times.

The union also believes that outsourcing the fire department would cost Stone Park more than it pays now.

“It’s our understanding that the department budget is $1.5 million, and that outsourcing would be $2 million,” Wilcox said.

Mazzulla, through his spokesperson, denied the union’s claims.

A message left with Giuffre was not returned Thursday.

Melrose Park spokesman Gary Mack said top village officials recently met with Mazzulla to discuss Stone Park’s consolidation plan.

“Municipalities are doing this all over the state of Illinois,” Mack said.