Fire Official’s Retirement Controversy Lands in Court
Friday, February 04, 2011
The controversy over a Providence Fire Department official who sought better retirement benefits by taking a voluntary demotion has now landed in court, according to documents obtained by GoLocalProv.
Battalion Chief Michael Morgan requested and received a voluntary demotion in mid-December. The demotion made him a member of the union. As a result, in retirement he stood to benefit from a 3 percent compounded COLA that is afforded to union members.
The city later rescinded his demotion, but Morgan is still fighting for his higher retirement pay—and has asked the firefighters’ union to represent him. On Dec. 30—the same day he retired—Morgan sent a letter to the union asking it to file a grievance on his behalf. Morgan claims that he his demotion was wrongly rescinded and that he was unjustly denied the benefits that come with union membership.
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The union has taken the issue to court, asking Providence County Superior Court in a Jan. 26 complaint to make the decision as to whether Morgan really counts as a union member—since he was in the union for just the 10 days between the time when his demotion was approved and when it was rescinded.
“The voluntary demotion of defendant Morgan from Battalion Chief to Firefighter First Class and the subsequent rescission of the demotion by defendants (Fire Chief George) Farrell and (Mayor David) Cicilline creates a significant issue of the interpretation of the (Collective Bargaining Agreement) entered into by the plaintiff, Local 799 and the defendant, City of Providence as to whether or not Morgan is a member of Local for the purposes of the grievance procedure set forth in Article XVI of the CBA,” the complaint states.
The complaint also asks for an injunction that would allow the union to delay acting on the grievance request until Superior Court makes a decision on whether Morgan was a union member.
It also asks the court to rule on whether the voluntary demotion and the later rescinding of the demotion were legal.
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