The lawsuit follows an alleged dispute with the Unified Government after union members were not permitted to speak to elected officials about staffing and safety concerns within the department. “The firefighters were hopeful this situation could have been avoided,” Jacob Miller, an attorney representing Local 64, said in the release. “However, when discussions about safety and matters of public concern are repeatedly shut down, they believe the legal system is the only remaining path to ensure these important public safety concerns are heard.” Longtime safety concernsConcerns over short staffing within the department and its effect on public safety are nothing new in KCK. “Fire and EMS are essential services and a necessity for public safety, not an optional expense,” union president John “J.J.”