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Laid-Off Gary Indiana Firefighter Panhandles Near City Hall
LAURI HARVEY KEAGLE
The Times of Northwest Indiana
Reprinted with Permission
GARY - For the past 10 years, Jason Pickering made a living helping others. Now, he says he's the one relying on the kindness of strangers.
Laid-off Gary firefighter Jason Pickering, of Valparaiso, stands Monday near Gary City Hall with a sign seeking donations. One of 34 firefighters laid off last month, the father of four said he can't get by on unemployment alone. He said he took in $400 in charity in four hours Sunday.(Kyle telechan/The Times)
Jason Pickering, 34, holds a sign Monday in downtown Gary that reads "Laid off Gary firefighter. Family of six. Thank you and God bless." The Valparaiso father of four was one of 34 Gary firefighters laid off last month.(Kyle telechan/The Times)
Related
Laid-Off Gary Firefighter Takes To The Streets
Pickering, 34, of Valparaiso, is one of 34 Gary firefighters who were laid off last week.
The Times of Northwest Indiana
Reprinted with Permission
GARY - For the past 10 years, Jason Pickering made a living helping others. Now, he says he's the one relying on the kindness of strangers.
Laid-off Gary firefighter Jason Pickering, of Valparaiso, stands Monday near Gary City Hall with a sign seeking donations. One of 34 firefighters laid off last month, the father of four said he can't get by on unemployment alone. He said he took in $400 in charity in four hours Sunday.(Kyle telechan/The Times)
Jason Pickering, 34, holds a sign Monday in downtown Gary that reads "Laid off Gary firefighter. Family of six. Thank you and God bless." The Valparaiso father of four was one of 34 Gary firefighters laid off last month.(Kyle telechan/The Times)
Related
Laid-Off Gary Firefighter Takes To The Streets
Pickering, 34, of Valparaiso, is one of 34 Gary firefighters who were laid off last week.
The married father of four now has taken to begging for money on the streets of the city he served. Dressed in his turnout gear, Pickering holds a sign hand drawn on a square of cardboard that reads:
"Laid off Gary firefighter. Family of six. Thank you and God bless."
In his other hand is the boot he is using to collect donations.
"Yesterday, I was at 31st and Grant and got $400 in four hours," he said. "People were really generous, giving 20s and stuff."
Standing under the sign for the Genesis Convention Center at Broadway and Fifth Avenue, collecting donations Monday morning, Pickering said all he ever wanted to do was be a firefighter.
The South Haven native joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from Portage High School and trained as a firefighter while in the military. When he got out of the Navy, he trained locally and was hired by the Gary Fire Department.
Pickering said he was one of only two in the department trained to serve as a firefighter and paramedic. He served at Station No. 3 at 12th Avenue and Roosevelt Street.
He admits part of his goal while standing on the street collecting donations is to protest the layoffs and raise awareness of them in the city.
But Pickering insists the financial need is real. His wife does not work, staying home with their four daughters ranging in age from 2 to 10.
"Unemployment only pays $350 a week," he said. "I've got a house, car payment, mortgage payment, just like everyone else."
The layoff notices were delivered Dec. 27. City officials blamed the move on 2011 salary budget cuts they expect will be required by the Distressed Unit Appeals Board.
"Laid off Gary firefighter. Family of six. Thank you and God bless."
In his other hand is the boot he is using to collect donations.
"Yesterday, I was at 31st and Grant and got $400 in four hours," he said. "People were really generous, giving 20s and stuff."
Standing under the sign for the Genesis Convention Center at Broadway and Fifth Avenue, collecting donations Monday morning, Pickering said all he ever wanted to do was be a firefighter.
The South Haven native joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from Portage High School and trained as a firefighter while in the military. When he got out of the Navy, he trained locally and was hired by the Gary Fire Department.
Pickering said he was one of only two in the department trained to serve as a firefighter and paramedic. He served at Station No. 3 at 12th Avenue and Roosevelt Street.
He admits part of his goal while standing on the street collecting donations is to protest the layoffs and raise awareness of them in the city.
But Pickering insists the financial need is real. His wife does not work, staying home with their four daughters ranging in age from 2 to 10.
"Unemployment only pays $350 a week," he said. "I've got a house, car payment, mortgage payment, just like everyone else."
The layoff notices were delivered Dec. 27. City officials blamed the move on 2011 salary budget cuts they expect will be required by the Distressed Unit Appeals Board.
The state board granted the city $21 million in relief from tax caps in each of the past two years. Still, the city's property tax revenue has been cut in half since the tax caps were instituted.
The city also has lost revenue because of the bankruptcy of the Majestic Star Casino. Officials said the firefighter layoffs will save the city about $1.2 million.
The city also has lost revenue because of the bankruptcy of the Majestic Star Casino. Officials said the firefighter layoffs will save the city about $1.2 million.
The explanations are little relief to Pickering, who doesn't know where to turn for the work he was trained to do. The only department hiring anywhere in the state, he said, is in Fort Wayne.
Relocating isn't an option.
"We just want to come back to work," Pickering said of the firefighters who lost their jobs. "We took an oath to help people."
Copyright 2011 nwi.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Relocating isn't an option.
"We just want to come back to work," Pickering said of the firefighters who lost their jobs. "We took an oath to help people."
Copyright 2011 nwi.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by tharte on
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wow! that is a TON of runs for 18 apparatus! they need more firefighters! how do they think they are going to maintain good pt care or good response times by laying off ff's???
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Permalink Reply by Mark George on
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Maybe the President should take less vacations on the tax payers money and put that money into the fire services so less layoffs might be possible!
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Permalink Reply by Robert Hunt on
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This is a sad reality of the piss poor and long road our country is heading down. I bet that there are plenty of department heads, management positions, and stupid "city projects" that could have been put on hold, let go of, or taken a pay cut that would save they city enough money to avoid laying off the "true public servants." I am so tired of hearing talks of lay offs when city managers are making six figure incomes. Their lack of addressing the problem before it was a problem is well a ..... poor management of funds to begin with. If they got the city in the postion its in then it should be their heads on the chopping block. In my own city there had been some "lay off" rumors. Yet the city still has tee-ball fields that have a full time dedicated crew to maintaining 3 fields. I mean come on! You are going to lay off firemen and cops and make them take paycuts or whatever, before turning off the damn sprinklers at the park. Or like someone said in Gary, IN build a memorial to Michael Jackson, this is a fucking travesty! I don't know how to do it but somehow we need to get the entire county to pull its head out of its own ass!
Sorry for the language, I just had to rant a little after reading this story. My thoughts and prayers are with my brothers in Gary. Stay Strong!
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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on
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First off this is sad...
so this might be a strange inquiry... but two thoughts occurred to me...
Can he legally stand in his fire gear and pan handle - advertising himself as a FF ?
Will the State cut his unemployment since he clearing is making money - which is being publically published?
Can they cut back hiw unemployment if he is getting these other monies ?
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Permalink Reply by Zachery on
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Well Paul the next time you have a wreck or your house is on fire I hope that the fire dept. that is responding to your call takes there fucking time. It takes a real man to rush into a fire, and it takes a bigger man to know what to do once your in there to save your house. And it really the same man to know what to do when your car is crashed on the side of the road with you bleeding from a open fracture. Just reamber who your talking shit about when your house catches on fire, or your involved in a car crash.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Paul,
Others have mentioned many points I would also make, so I won't repeat those. However, your notions are misguided for the most part and you are toeing the same rhetoric talk where public employees are thus being blamed for budget woes.
There is much to to any story than just taking a pay cut, or living at $20 to $30,000/ yr. It may work for you, but as already mentioned, cost of living does differ all over. Then there is education standards, maintaining license, keeping up on skills, not to mention calls. There is much more than what you may think is just sitting around doing basic "busy" work while someone else is busting their ass. In such things, it leads to questioning the job....saying someone else busts their ass and makes a pawltry salary as compared to a FF just doing busy work, truely does not account for all issues. For instance I can say I bust my ass much more than the president of company, but does that take into account everything? No it doesn't
As for money, yes, there is only so much to go around, but there is much more to budget issues than just wages and benefits of public workers. There are many factors involved from caps, TIFs, business incentives, and even nice to haves taking precedence. In many to most cases, you have seen concessions made by public employees, but it is a rarity those concessions are reported, there is also more issues involved in such negotiations which you are not accounting for to make such a broad statement.
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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I would suspect that the gear he is wearing was bought on his own dime. That department has been bare bones forever. Donations are not "employment'. Most people start selling all their personal belongings on ebay or craigs list to survive and that is not considered employment either.
I say kudos to him, I would stand in front of city hall every day until they write a new ordinance that says I am breaking some city rule.... because the administrators who run these towns and cities have not taken a pay cut or even thought about effecting their personal lifestyles with big personal pay cuts.
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No, but I'm sure it would make me puke.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Paschal on
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Dang, well to begin with the pay of most fire fighters is based on other cities that are comperable to theirs, for example we use a 10 city average to base our pay scale on, the city picks 5 and the local picks 5. Each city is simmilar in population, income etc. Again the cities usualy have the money they just want to use it in other places. The LAST thing I want is to bankrupt my city however we are highly trained professionals and we incur a lot of liability at our jobs. One would do well to remember that heart attacks are the number one LODD cause, less firefighters on scene means each firefighters work load is increased which equals more heart attacks, which cost the city.
I do believe the firefighter in the article is helping the fact that people are giving him money indicates that the general public is not aware of how the fire service is being treated in their city. That is, sadly the case most often. Remember they call we show up, they do not know we are spread thin and worn out.
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I just hope there are no secondary horrible consequences to his actions.
I bet if you bought a police uniform yourself - you still could not stand around town in it - and impersonate look like a police officer.
And I hope they don't in turn feel like he is undermining the mission of the department...
Maybe I am too cynical - but fear the other shoe will drop.
So many people in every industry are losing their jobs - and horrible secondary consequences ensue.
so sad...
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Permalink Reply by Kyle Tischler on
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This is truly awe full. I do certainly feel for firefighter/medic Pickering and his fellow firefighters going through this. My heart goes out to them all. I too am a father of 6; 3 boys and 3 girls, and being unemployed is no picnic I know. God be with you all, stand tall, and may the luck of the new year give you a hand.
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