Sick leave abuse puts firefighters union chief in real bind

One minute he is talking tough about discipline, the next he is protesting strict punishment of abusers.

It’s not the first time his statements have lacked consistency.

During most of 2010, he denied there was any sick leave abuse. Then he said it was “a small number.” When the county released a list of 231 people who took more than a month’s sick leave in 2009, Beaman looked foolish, especially because his father and brother were on that list.

His father, Eddie Beaman, an engineer, took 427 hours of sick leave, and his brother, firefighter Cody Beaman, took 312 hours. Maybe the union leader’s father and brother had legitimate reasons. However, Eddie Beaman was on a list of 18 people suspected of abusing their sick time. Cody Beaman was not.

(Another name on that list may have a familiar ring: former Capt. Martin Vohwinkel. His sick leave in 2009 totaled 792 hours. He was sick all right. In 2010, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. The 56-year-old fire captain was caught up in a sting looking for sexual predators. He used Craigslist.com to communicate with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl willing to have sex with him. And yes, under Nevada’s Public Employees’ Retirement System, he will continue to get his retirement checks while he is in a minimum-security federal pen in Colorado.)

Contract negotiations are under way for the next fiscal year starting July 1, and Beaman will be at the negotiating table on behalf of 700 firefighters. He is a man with two problems: no credibility and no clout.

Not only was he all over the place on the question of whether there was any abuse, now he is all over the place on the question of how abusers should be punished.

On Jan. 22 in a Review-Journal interview, Beaman said: “I’m fine with the investigation. I hope the investigators also look at management. … If they (managers) have the information, they should’ve gone after the employees and disciplined them.”

On Jan. 30, while Beaman was still claiming it was a small number, which he knew was false, he said: “Anyone misusing sick leave should be punished appropriately.”

On Feb. 20, Beaman was quoted as saying forfeiting six months sick leave would be appropriate because the contract allows for the penalty. But demoting or firing employees would be overreaching and not allowed in the contract. That same day, the Las Vegas Sun quoted Beaman as saying those abusing sick leave should be punished, even if his father is among them.

He has gone from tough to marshmallow.

By opposing termination and demotion for wrongdoers, he is going against public sentiment. And his timing is lousy.

On Thursday, county managers asked department heads for another 9 percent cut for the fiscal year starting in July. That translates into $41 million and would equal about 400 jobs.

Now is not the time to increase any benefits for firefighters. It’s time for them to willingly make financial sacrifices along with other county employees, despite their union contract. Firefighters are not a protected class of county employees, as much as they would like to think they are.

Oh, what to do with Assembly Bill 131, which would make it easier for firefighters, police, arson investigators and emergency medical attendants to qualify for disability? That should remain deep-sixed in the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee, where it originated.

Speaker John Oceguera, the assistant fire chief in North Las Vegas, needs to bury that baby, and I don’t mean bury it in another bill.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.