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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — After appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took over Walt Disney World’s governing district earlier this 12 months, its firefighters have been among the many few staff who publicly welcomed them with open arms.
However that heat relationship is in jeopardy as a brand new district administrator has reopened negotiations on a contract that was permitted final month by the unionized firefighters, promising pay raises and extra manpower.
A vote on the contract initially was focused for final month throughout a gathering of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board of supervisors nevertheless it was by no means introduced up, and it didn’t seem on an agenda launched forward of the following assembly scheduled for Wednesday.
Below the three-year contract proposal overwhelmingly permitted by 200 firefighters and first responders, annual beginning pay for firefighters would enhance to $65,000, up from $55,000. It additionally promised hiring as much as three dozen firefighters and paramedics.
At a number of conferences for the reason that DeSantis-appointed supervisors took their seats this spring, Jon Shirey, who leads the firefighters’ union, praised them for visiting firefighters at their stations across the 39 square-mile (101 square-kilometer) Disney World property.
The firefighters regarded ahead to collaborating with the brand new supervisors and administrator after years of clashing with their Disney-supporting predecessors, and considered the appointments as “a chance for a recent begin,” he mentioned.
“Virtually in a single day, a change occurred that we’ve by no means skilled — transparency, open dialogue, the flexibility to sit down down and have our points heard and felt listened to,” Shirey advised board members final month. “You have got been capable of construct bridges that have been lengthy burned.”
The sensation was mutual, with board chairman Martin Garcia saying final month that the supervisors have been working with the firefighters to resolve their points. Even so, Garcia made clear that the firefighters weren’t the one district staff the board wished to help.
“We additionally must let the (different) staff know, we love you, too. We care about you. We love you as a lot as we love our firefighters,” Garcia mentioned.
However the delay in approving the contract has alienated the firefighters’ union, which final 12 months endorsed the gubernatorial reelection marketing campaign of DeSantis, who not too long ago launched a marketing campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The outdated contract expired 4 years in the past and the firefighters declared an deadlock final 12 months when the district’s board was nonetheless managed by Disney supporters. The Reedy Creek Skilled Firefighters, Native 2117 have warned for years that they’re understaffed, which poses a security danger because the central Florida theme park resort grows greater.
Final month, District Administrator John Classe, who initially negotiated the brand new contract, was changed by the board with Glenton Gilzean, a DeSantis ally who beforehand served as president and CEO of the Central Florida City League and can obtain a $400,000 wage in his new job. The district is also paying Classe to remain on as a particular advisor.
Board spokesperson Alexei Woltornist mentioned negotiations with the union have been persevering with, with out explaining why they have been reopened with a contract already permitted by the firefighters and first responders.
“Administrator Gilzean is actively working with the fireplace division to finalize a deal that gives a aggressive compensation package deal and provides firefighters the assets they should shield the general public,” Woltornist mentioned in an electronic mail to The Related Press.
Officers with the firefighters’ union didn’t remark.
The DeSantis appointees took over the Disney World governing board earlier this 12 months following a yearlong feud between the corporate and DeSantis. The struggle started final 12 months after Disney, beset by vital strain internally and externally, publicly opposed a state regulation banning classroom classes on sexual orientation and gender id in early grades, a coverage critics name “Don’t Say Homosexual.”
As punishment, DeSantis took over the district via laws handed by Florida lawmakers and appointed a brand new board of supervisors to supervise municipal providers for the sprawling theme parks and resorts. However earlier than the brand new board got here in, the corporate made agreements with earlier oversight board members that stripped the brand new supervisors of their authority over design and development.
Disney sued DeSantis and the five-member board, asking a federal choose to void the governor’s takeover of the theme park district, in addition to the oversight board’s actions, on the grounds they have been violations of firm’s free speech rights.
The board sued Disney in state court docket in an effort to take care of its management of development and design at Disney World.
The district was created in 1967 when then-Florida Gov. Claude Kirk signed laws authorizing it to manage land use, implement constructing codes, deal with wastewater, management drainage, preserve utilities and supply hearth safety at Disney World.
Such non-public governments aren’t unusual in fast-growing Florida, which has greater than 600 group growth districts that handle and pay for infrastructure in new communities.
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Observe Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP
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