BREAKING: Providence Firefighters Score Court Victory Against Elorza’s Staffing Plan
Thursday, September 10, 2015
The plan by Mayor Jorge Elorza to unilaterally change the staffing of the Providence Fire Department from four platoons to three platoons took a serious blow today when Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear ordered the issue be resolved through grievance arbitration.
In a ten page decision, Lanphear said the three platoon structure was a management right, but “The effects of the implementation of the three-platoon structure including wages, rates of pay, hours and other terms and conditions of employment shall be resolved pursuant to the grievance procedures set forth in Article XVI, Section 1 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
"The only people who would be surprised by the Judge's decision today would be the city and the second-rate labor lawyer they're using," said Paul Doughty, President of the Firefighters Local 799. "It's important to note that the judge in this case didn't "split the baby." Make no mistake, this was a victory for the firefighters."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Of course we fully expect [Elorza] to spin it that he's still confident in his legal standing. And the taxpayer needs to keep an eye on this," Doughty continued. "If we win in court, where his odds of winning are now lower -- if the bill comes due, it's going to be a hit to the city of $12 million to $20 million a year. This was ill-thought out, ill-conceived, and illegal. If he loses, he might was well hand the keys to the city over to a bankruptcy judge."
Elorza remained confident in the city's position on Thursday.
"I am excited that the Judge affirmed the City's management right to restructure the fire department, an action that will reduce excessive overtime and save taxpayers $5-7 million annually. On the procedural question, the judge decided that both parties must go to arbitration. I am confident that going forward, an arbitrator or judge will also agree that the city has the management right to restructure the fire department," said Elorza in a statement.
Thursday's Ruling
Moreover, Lanphear affirmed that, “If the grievance procedures do not resolve the disputes, grievance arbitration pursuant to Article XVI, Section 2 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement shall apply, and the decision of the Arbitrator shall be final and binding as the Collective Bargaining Agreement provides.”
The financial impact of the Lanphear decision is unknown. What is known is that the dispute will continue and there is little motivation for the firefighter’s union to negotiate a resolution with the Elorza Administration
As GoLocal reported earlier:
In May, Elorza announced that as part of addressing the city's structural deficit, he was reorganizing the Providence Fire Department from four platoons to three, which he said could save as much as $5 million annually -- and firefighters have been opposing since.
"I hope the auditor has done some models. It's our estimation that the best case scenario is $2 million in savings and worst case, a $12 million loss," said Local 799 President Paul Doughty on Friday.
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