DRUG TESTS NO SOLUTION

Madison Mayor Sue Bauman was absolutely right on when she indicated the
other day that she will not join Fire Chief Debra Amesqua in pushing for
mandatory drug testing of all firefighters.

After the latest revelations about alleged marijuana and cocaine use by a
small percentage of firefighters, the chief renewed her old call for
mandatory testing. Indeed, the chief said she would pour more energy than
before into forcing the firefighters union to accept the practice.

Union leaders say they will fight the move, and they are absolutely correct
in their stance. Madison firefighters should not be forced to urinate on
command by managers who have failed to develop adequate responses to
substance abuse issues.

This newspaper has long opposed mandatory testing of public workers. Our
theory on this issue goes to the basics of management: If Fire Department
managers are so out of touch that they do not know employees have drug
problems, then city officials have a lot more to worry about than setting up
a schedule for the regular filling of plastic cups.

This is especially true in the case of the Fire Department, where the
firefighters union has been genuinely flexible in its approach to substance
abuse concerns. The union has pushed for sophisticated programs that would
help firefighters and civilian employees who develop alcohol or drug abuse
problems to seek and receive treatment with the goal of keeping them on the
job.

That's exactly the right approach.

There is no question that the Madison Fire Department needs to do a better
job of combating substance abuse in its ranks. Firefighters union President
Joe Conway Jr. and Mayor Bauman agree on this, as we are sure does Chief
Amesqua. The only real question is over how to do that better job.

The answer is not a fill-the-cup mentality.

A well-run Fire Department that is serious about protecting the community
and getting the best service out of its employees does not need the crutch
of mandatory drug testing. It needs a sound plan developed in cooperation
with managers who respect firefighters and the union that represents those
firefighters.