JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — The dispute over pay increases between the Jefferson Parish East Bank firefighters' union and the parish administration has reached a critical point, with the firefighters' union now threatening to bypass parish leadership and put the issue directly to voters.

Earlier this week, the union's leadership received a unanimous vote of authorization to call for an impasse should negotiations fail. This decision follows the release of a pay study that Burkett has criticized as "flawed."

According to Robert Burkett, President of the Jefferson Parish East Bank Firefighters Association, negotiations with the administration of Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng have stalled.

“The Sheng administration has been unwilling to come back with a reasonable offer to our proposal. W

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