Whitmire on bill requiring arbitration in legal row between Houston, firefighters: 'The current administration has ignored the firefighters for seven years'

A piece of legislation that calls for arbitration between the City of Houston and its firefighters is expected to become law after it passes both chambers of the Texas Legislature.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, however, heavily criticized Senate Bill (SB) 736 as it awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature, according to a report from Houston FOX affiliate KRIV.

"So they get binding arbitration, they continue with their lawsuits, costs continue to rise and then how much more do you want?” Turner, who’s in his final months in the city’s highest office, said, KRIV reported. “What I can say to you is this mayor will turn over to the next mayor and city council a city that is in healthy financial state.

“It's up to the next mayor and city council to maintain it and if you start working against it before you even get here, then that speaks volumes and I'll leave it just like that,” the mayor added.

State Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston), SB 736’s author and an aspirant for Turner’s job, insinuated that Turner is being negligent by failing to work with firefighters through voter-approved, collective bargaining amounts, per the report.

"We have to have a first-class fire department,” Whitmire said, according to KRIV. “We have to have firefighters willing to run into burning buildings on our behalf.

“The current administration has ignored the firefighters for seven years,” the senator added. “It actually fought them in the state Supreme Court. So it was time to quit kicking the can down the road and work out a reasonable resolution to the firefighters' compensation.”

Houston Daily reported last month the Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling that struck down the voter-approved Proposition B.

Given the green light by voters in 2018, Prop B required the implementation of pay parity between firefighters and police.

Both sides in the legal tug-of-war perceive the ruling as a win.

Per a report from Houston NPR affiliate Houston Public Media (HPM), Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters’ Association (HPFFA), praised the dual-chamber passage of SB 736.

"This is a long time coming,” Lancton said, HPM reported. “We are ecstatic.”