Reliable sources told the EYE that 6th Ward Alderman Lewis Reed will get the endorsement of Local 73, the AFL-affliated St. Louis city firefighters union, AKA the “white firefighters’ union,” in his bid to unseat Jim Shrewsbury as the president of the Board of Aldermen.
Local 73’s endorsement of Reed comes as no surprise to local political observers, given the union’s long-running feud with Shrewsbury. According to Shrewsbury, Local 73 has never endorsed him. The union’s angst with Shrewsbury stems back to 1984, when Shrewsbury voted against a bill to allow the lump-sum payment of pension money to firefighters.
In an ironic twist of fate, Local 73’s feud with Shrewsbury became a badge of honor for him with the Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality (FIRE), AKA “the black firefighters’ union.” FIRE was created in 1968 by black firefighters to fight racism in the hiring and promoting of firefighters by the city of St. Louis. FIRE, along with the U.S. Justice Department, sued the city, and consent decree was entered into by the city and the Justice Department that created an affirmative action plan that required the city to hire firefighters on a 50/50 basis until the percentage of black and white firefighters becomes reflective of the city’s population.
For years, Local 73 has tried unsuccessfully to get the courts to end the consent decree. FIRE has been able to use its political clout with both black and white elected officials to thwart the union’s effort.
Because of Local 73’s long-standing policy of endorsing anybody – even Scooby Doo – over Shrewsbury, the incumbent will become the beneficiary of an endorsement by FIRE. The EYE has learned that FIRE officials have told Reed that their union will indeed back Shrewsbury, who also has a good relationship with Fire Chief Sherman George. According to Reed, however, FIRE’s endorsement of Shrewsbury is based upon its policy of endorsing incumbents. If so, the EYE wonders if this same policy of endorsing incumbents will extend to Mayor Francis G. Slay when he is up for reelection in 2009?
Speaking of the black firefighters’ dislike of Slay, a good one has been going around the firehouses during what can be considered as a kind of Hot Stove League lull in local politics. This speculation is that somebody close to the Slay machine made it worth Irene Smith’s while to file in the most recent mayoral race, to deflect a more electable black candidate from taking up arms against Slay.