Jason Bouchard, president of the Ogdensburg Professional Firefighters, Local 1799, shared the letter publicly Friday.
âThe city has asked the Union forego decades of collective bargaining to save our jobs from elimination, a decision the city leaders themselves have made,â the letter from union members to Mr. Bouchard reads. âThe majority of these individuals voted to violate our contract before they ever came to us with one proposal to stop it. They have used the five of us as hostages, in an effort to bust our union, eliminate our manning, and destroy our legally binding contract. The type of negotiation the city manager and city has engaged in is strictly put, improper. The city simply issued a ransom note, as they issued layoff notices, blaming us. Please indicate that we note their efforts and we all voted a steadfast, NO, on the cityâs offer. Their goal to destroy our department is undeniable.â