BOSTON FIREFIGHTERS UNDERGO FIRST RANDOM DRUG, ALCOHOL TESTING

The first random drug and alcohol tests began today at three
firehouses in Boston, quietly ending a saga that became a flashpoint
in a bitter labor dispute.

Without warning, the randomly selected engine and ladder companies
were visited by Occupational Drug Testing Inc., a private company that
subjected 20 firefighters to instant-read breathalyzers and urine
tests, which yield results in a few days after processing at a laboratory.

The fire department declined to release the results of the
breathalyzers, citing the privacy of the individuals who were tested.
A source with knowledge of the screening said that everyone passed.

Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser learned this morning that
testing would begin and he joined one of the first groups at Engine 32
in Charlestown, voluntarily submitting to a breathalyzer and urine
test.

"I thought it was the right thing to do to show that I believe in the
testing program," Fraser said this afternoon. "It's a good thing, it's
being conducted properly, and that guys shouldn't have anything to
fear. I'm willing to do it, too."

The firefighters' contract allows for a number of random tests each
year equivalent to the size of the union, which currently has about
1,450 members. Companies will be selected for screening by a computer
at random, which means some firefighters could go an entire year
without being tested while others could be tested several times.

The testing team included a member of the department's employee
assistance program. Officials urged firefighters with substance abuse
problems to come forward before they face random screening so they can
get help.

"We want to help people," Fraser said. "We don't want to fire people.
That's not our goal."

Contract talks between the city and the union had already reached an
impasse in August 2007 when a blaze at the Tai Ho Mandarin and
Cantonese Restaurant on Centre Street in West Roxbury killed two
firefighters. Autopsy results made public that October showed that the
two men may have been impaired.

One of the firefighters had traces of cocaine in his system and the
other had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27, more than three times the
state's legal limit.

The revelation prompted the Menino administration to renew a push for
random drug and alcohol tests. Firefighters accused the city of
inappropriately leaking the autopsy results. The union demanded
compensation in exchange for testing, arguing that there had been quid
pro quos with other public safety unions.

The issue became a flashpoint that pervaded last year's mayoral
campaign. Local 718 aggressively backed the challenger, but Menino
still triumphed by 15 percentage points.

In April, the union won its own victory when an independent arbitrator
awarded firefighters a contract that included a 2 1/2 percent raise as
a direct quid pro quo for random drug and alcohol testing. The
contract required an up or down vote by the City Council, which balked
at paying firefighters for the screening at a time of layoff and the
threat of library closures.

The council ultimately brokered a dramatic 11th-hour compromise in
June. The key element of the deal reduced the raise for drug and
alcohol testing to 1 1/2 percent and delayed the pay hike until June
2011.