Democrat Bob Brooks, a longtime firefighters' union official running for Congress in a toss-up Pennsylvania district, berated union firefighters who also work as volunteer firefighters in their free time as "scab[s]" and "shitbags" in angry social media postings.
His hostility to volunteer firefighters comes as many Pennsylvania communities depend on volunteers either because they can't afford unionized firefighters or because of a chronic firefighter shortage.
Brooks, who is running neck and neck against Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R.), made his withering remarks about volunteer firefighters on Facebook in April. Brooks is president of the 6,000-member Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association and, like his union, vehemently opposes "two hatters," professional firefighters who volunteer in their free time.
"Just for the record! If you are an IAFF [International Association of Firefighters] member and you volunteer in an area that responds to where other IAFF members work… YOU ARE A SCAB and should be treated as such," wrote Brooks, who has made his Facebook profile private since posting the screed.
"I am so tired of you two hatter shitbags. If your [sic] offended, please delete me," added Brooks, who worked as a firefighter in Bethlehem, Pa., for 20 years and served in "every post in his union" during that time. In 2024, his last full year as a firefighter, Brooks earned $53,000 from the union and $77,000 from the city of Bethlehem, according to his financial disclosures.
Some members of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association agreed with Brooks's diatribe. "The meaning of being a true union brother is lost on a lot of people these days," wrote a fire captain from Manheim Township.
The IAFF, which oversees the Pennsylvania union, bans its members from volunteering in cities with unionized departments, claiming the practice causes lower wages for dues-paying members. Penalties for such offenses range from fines to expulsion.
It's a controversial position, but one that highlights the priority that public-sector unions put on protecting dues-paying members instead of the public good. Around 90 percent of Pennsylvania's 2,000 fire departments rely on at least some volunteers, many in smaller towns that are unable to afford a full-sized professional fire department. And staffing shortages at professional departments require them to often call in firefighters from surrounding communities, including, often, volunteers.
Brooks's post irked some volunteer firefighters in the district he aims to represent.
"It bothers me tremendously when I see something like that," said Dave Johnson, a longtime volunteer at the Plainfield Township Volunteer Fire Company. "To me, you should commend volunteers because they're using their skill set for the areas that cannot afford paid firefighters and to help benefit those communities."
"This guy is speaking poorly of good people," Johnson, a former steelworkers' union member, told the Washington Free Beacon.
Johnson worries that Brooks, if elected, would ignore volunteer fire departments or those that rely heavily on volunteers in favor of those that are fully unionized.
"He would fight against volunteers," said Johnson.
By contrast, Mackenzie, elected in 2024, has sought congressional funding for volunteer departments and urged local residents to support volunteer firefighters.
Mackenzie requested nearly $5 million in congressional funding this year to purchase a fire truck in Bangor and build new fire stations in Alburtis and Bowmanstown for their all-volunteer departments, according to congressional funding requests.
"No matter the area, local volunteer fire companies are counting on their communities for support, whether that be non-perishables, monetary donations, or volunteerism," Mackenzie recently said. "We're grateful to all volunteer firefighters in our region for the work that they do to keep our communities safe."
Brooks, who is endorsed by Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro (D.) and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders (I.), appears to be comfortable with some volunteers, just as long as they don't work on union turf. Brooks's campaign website notes that his son is fire chief at an all-volunteer department. But Brooks's missive suggests he would oppose his son showing up at a fire in a town with a unionized department.
Johnson pointed to a recent three-alarm fire at a hotel in Easton, Pa., that is now at the center of a federal investigation. The department, which is unionized by IAFF's Local 713, called in volunteers from surrounding communities to put out the blaze, a measure that Brooks would seemingly oppose.
Johnson said residents ultimately do not care whether emergencies are handled by professionals or volunteers.
"Who cares if they're paid or not paid," he told the Free Beacon.
Brooks did not respond to a request for comment. His campaign declined comment.
