S.F. union effort to Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White lacks support

I am confused about the recent uproar over Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White and I don’t think I’m the only one. Her detractors, led by firefighters union boss Tom O’Connor, say her job performance has been so poor that if we knew the facts it would ignite a firestorm of criticism.

So far I am failing to ignite.

The main complaint is about slow response times by the department’s ambulances. The Chronicle has covered the problem extensively and there’s no question it is troubling.

The city’s target is to have an ambulance on scene within 10 minutes, but crews often miss that mark. There was an infamous two-hour wait on a call on Labor Day, and O’Connor says “we ran out of ambulances” as recently as Tuesday so some calls were turned over to private ambulance companies.

OK, noted. But no one denies that the units are understaffed and short of vehicles. The department has just put nine new ambulances on the streets, with 10 more on the way.

“There’s been a flurry of activity recently,” O’Connor concedes. “But we’re still short 26 to 48 people.”

So, to review, there aren’t enough ambulances or people to staff them. The department is aware of that, and Hayes-White says now that the economy has improved — after six years of budget cuts — the department has the money to address those shortages.

Again, not igniting. What else you got?

Now we enter an area of smoke, mirrors and magic dust. The big news this week was a vote by O’Connor’s union that he says showed that 81 percent of the members voted “no confidence” in the chief.

The vote totals were: 680 for no confidence, 156 in support of the chief and nine abstentions. That sounds pretty serious, but there’s more to story.

'Silent majority’

Although it was presented as polling of an overwhelming majority of the department, including uniformed and civilian members, in fact it barely represented half of the membership. There are 1,555 people in the department, meaning that 710 didn’t bother to vote.

Hayes-White’s supporters are taking that number, adding the 156 who voted for support and saying that more than 800 members did not support a no-confidence vote, either by casting a ballot in favor or by ignoring the poll altogether.

And while O’Connor sees that as stat-spinning — “There isn’t this huge, silent majority that didn’t vote” — it does undercut the idea that this is a unified Fire Department up in arms. Sounds much more like a disgruntled group that, although large, hasn’t sold the rest of the membership.

But that’s pretty much it. Don’t you get the impression there is something else going on here?

I’d say there is, starting with the fact that Hayes-White has ruffled some feathers by disciplining firefighters, including — and this is groundbreaking — some in the upper ranks.

It apparently stems from the appalling accident in June 2013 when a firefighter whose blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit crashed into a motorcyclist, seriously injuring him. Hayes-White disciplined not only the driver, who fled the scene, but two assistant chiefs, saying they were accountable.

I’ve got no problem with that. Not only was the driver seen on video chugging water at a nearby bar afterward, but a 2004 grand jury report found widespread drinking at firehouses. Drinking on duty is inexcusable, and if the Fire Department supervisors didn’t stop it, or didn’t know, they were negligent.

O’Connor insists “this has absolutely nothing to do with discipline,” but it is an open secret that some of the rank and file weren’t happy being called on the carpet, particularly by a woman. (Let’s be honest, the old-boy network is alive and well. Some of them still think she was promoted as a political statement.)

High-profile support

And finally, Hayes-White has been chief for 10 years, which she says is one of the longest tenures in SFFD history. O’Connor is happy to jump on that.

“She’s had a great run,” he says. “She was the first female chief in a major urban center. Like one guy said, even Bill Walsh had to walk off the field after 10 years and two Super Bowls.” (In reality, it was three.)

Actually, it wouldn’t astonish me if Hayes-White decided to retire in the near future. As she says, in April she’ll have 25 years in the department.

But I don’t see her being forced out. She’s got the support of the mayor, and insiders doubt that an upcoming performance review will recommend that she resign.

Unless there’s something else, I’d give these vague charges a vote of no confidence.