Posted on 10/17/2009 6:06:19 PM PDT by Doogle
A Pennslyvania firefighter was suspended without pay for refusing to remove an American flag sticker from his locker, Myfoxphilly.com reported.
James Krapf of Chester, Pa., violated a department policy that states personal items can only be posted inside employee lockers when he stuck the flag on the outside. According to Myfoxphilly.com, the firefighters' union warned 11 others to remove personal items or face similar suspensions, all without pay.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Who the F do they think pays their salaries?
Some liberal obviously complained about it.
Sorry, but the policy in this case seems fair. None of the firefighters were allowed to put anything on the outside of their lockers.
Organizations have to have rules. This isn’t about anti-Americanism or a vendetta against the flag. It’s about reasonable restrictions on what employees can do in the workplace.
So long as the rule applies to all of the employees who use lockers, what’s the beef?
The Firefighter Union here on Rt. 50 Fairfax, VA always supports the DEMS in election. If there is any out there screw you all.
Muzzies again?
This dhimmi stuff is going to kill the country
I agree with you. For what it’s worth. ;-)
Lamh Foistenach Abu!

Learn the rules and play the game. Sounds like the fireman doesn't want to play by the rules. I wonder if his flag looks like mine?
Really nice image, missnry. I don’t think I’ve seen it before.
...a cartoon, someone found offensive...so the "officials" deemed it EASIER to ban all.....don't deal with the people....take the freakin EASY way out...remove the flag....freakin OFFICIALS can't deal with decisions they SHOULD DEAL WITH...take the easy way out
This is so simple to solve. If ALL the guys put US flag stickers on the outside of the lockers in solidarity they could hardly susupend them all because there would be no one to fight fires.
These officious jacka**es need to take their heads out of their backsides.
I am so sick of this crap...........someone should make a stencil and Paint the Flag on every locker in the building.
In my town, our fire engines have flags on them...American flags, no less. With Sotomayer on the SCOTUS, how long before they declare mandatory separation of patriotism and state?
I'm disgusted by the officials' action but I know enough about First Amendment in the workplace cases that they really had no other choice except an across-the-board, "content-neutral" ban.
Seems their leadership wants to join Al Kaka, Talibrats or in-kind freak show so they can be aaccceeeppted; maybe when their house is on fire from a criminal or terrorist attack they can call 999 for Jesse, Al, Louis or Hamas. So lets see, its an offense to depict a sneak, cheat and lair as a Voodoo Clown, racist to speak against being un-American and a transgression to support the people that pay your salaries makes you wonder who really complained? Then on the other hand maybe one of the identity politics types called Pennsylvania Avenue to complain about proactive Americanism in public; cant have that its racist.
I want to agree with you because rules be rules, but why didn’t the union simply deal wth the “offensive’ cartoon putter-upper and call it a day? Why did they choose to mess with everyone? It’s our flag... it’s our country... damn the folks who get offened by OUR flag!
Ditto.
“Its about reasonable restrictions”
1. Reasonable restriction? What is unreasonable about
a fireman displaying an American Flag?
2. What the Hell’s business is it of some leftist union?
I would think the government that runs the fire department would be the one to make such rules.
Sorry, you are out in lefty field.
Here too! Wonder when Chester, Pa. receded from the Union?
The clash over the flag started as an attempt to quash arguments in the firehouse. Johnson directed all 61 firefighters over the summer to clear the outside of their lockers after a black firefighter posted a cartoon that some found offensive.
The firefighter, Robert Butler, 48, said yesterday he posted the cartoon, which showed two black men and included what could be considered racial slurs, as a protest.
Johnson, who also is black, removed the cartoon after another firefighter complained. Butler then posted a sign that read, “Black man has no free speech.” Butler was suspended for a day when he refused to remove the sign. He took it down the next day.
The directive, which ordered firefighters to keep the outside of lockers “free of alteration,” went into effect Aug. 29. Firefighters can keep family photos and other items inside their lockers.
Johnson, who refused to answer questions yesterday, said Thursday that firefighters had two months to talk to him about the directive before he began enforcing it this week. He said that the issue was a “molehill that’s been turned into a mountain,” and that he would not comment further until all “internal procedures are exhausted.”
He wasn’t singled out. They were all told to take personal items off their lockers. Apparently he refused, while the others complied.
As for why they can’t have displays on the outside of their lockers, it’s called setting workplace standards. They are free to put whatever they want on the inside of the lockers, but the place will look organized and clean (professional) when the lockers are closed. Seems reasonable to me.
If the rules prohibit posting anything on your (actually the public taxpery’s property) locker, then DON’T.
Patriotism is wonderful, but you can still follow the flippin’ rules!
Have you ever been in charge of a large organization? What would you rather managers do, constantly monitor and resolve disagreements between personnel over stickers or set a reasonable and fair policy that maintains an orderly work area for all? The correct answer, btw, is the latter one.
why didnt the union simply deal wth the offensive cartoon putter-upper and call it a day?
...they had a real simple choice. The “official: whether an officer in the fire house....or a town official....simply take the “cartoon” down and remind ALL in the station, whoever was responsible for the cartoon being displayed...THAT PERSON WILL FACE SUSPENSION...if it’s done again....you suspend them,you don’t take the EASY WAY OUT.
The captain or chief would then be reminded what his duties are in order to keep the peace
You just don’t remove the AMERICAN FLAG....I’m tired of this S8IT!. It’s real simple to resolve, they want to shun their responsibilities...the easy way
Unions are unions no matter WHO they represent.
...the easy way out "attempt" failed...it didn't resolve s*** ..instead of dealing with the people. I got a feeling the cartoon issue is just the latest this department has failed to address....that happens when ya take the easy way
Good night all,I gotta catch the rest of the game...*smiles*...enjoy
bingo
I believe many prison cells have a defined area of wall space where personal items may be displayed.
If the guy has a family to support and can’t just walk off to some other job, I would tell him, with a heavy heart, “Don’t martyr yourself, but move the sticker to some other place where current policy says it’s OK. Then work on trying to get the policy changed.”
There might be reasonable reasons for this, such as being able to repaint all locker doors after they collectively have incurred scratching and marring enough to be unsightly. Also management wouldn’t want things to fall off, creating litter in the room or difficulty in operating locker doors.
I have a picture of me and my crew holding our flag in front of a Blackhawh helicopter in the desert south Baghdad but don’t know how to attach it. As far as I know not even Saddam Hussein objected but of course there were no democrats around.
Well I might not want to put it on my toilet....
On the other hand, if these foot lockers are owned by the fire department, then the users have no right to put anything on them without the rightful owners permission.
One may argue that the fire department has already given their permission for the users to put whatever they want on the footlockers, but that permission was for the inside only.
There may be another issue in that if there was at one time an allowance for things on the outside and the rules were changed, then whatever was existent before the rules change should be still allowed (grandfathered in). However, this will have to be weighted against the lawful owners rights to say what their property can be used for.
ping
NOWHERE in this country should an american flag be banned. That’s part of the problem right now.
This is no big deal.
Rules are rules. The goobers would be putting Obama face stickers on everything if there were no rules.
NOWHERE in this country should an american flag be banned. Thats part of the problem right now.
Be careful what you wish for.
Some displays could be considered disrespectful.
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