Premium

Cooper-Sutton’s rant on the fire union and what’s behind it

By , Daily Memphian Published: December 08, 2025 4:00 AM CT

Memphis City Council member Yolanda Cooper-Sutton’s comments at the Dec. 2 council session likening the process that led to a 2% proposed raise for city firefighters to being raped drew plenty of reaction among council members.

But it is not the first time this year that a council member has expressed frustration over a process rooted in both dollars and politics.

This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.

Topics

Yolanda Cooper Sutton 2026 Sheriff's race 2026 elections Subscriber Only

2025 is almost over. Now is the time to support your trusted local news source.

Will you help us reach more Memphians with quality, in-depth local news? Make a fully tax-deductible donation or other contribution to The Daily Memphian, a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization, today.

Thank you for keeping up with what’s happening in Memphis. Thank you for investing in our community’s trusted local news source.

Bill Dries on demand

Never miss an article. Sign up to receive Bill Dries' stories as they’re published.

Enter your e-mail address

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Bill Dries

Bill Dries

Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.


Comments

Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here