GoLocalProv Uncovers: Providence Fire Bosses File to Unionize
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Assistant chiefs and other senior officers in the Providence Fire Department are trying to form their own union in an effort to get the higher pensions and other benefits that rank-and-file union members receive, according to documents obtained by GoLocalProv.
The officers last month filed a petition asking the State Labor Relations Board to recognize them as the United Public Safety Officers of RI. Currently, there are 11 officers who want to be in the union.
One city councilman says forming a second union could not come at a worse time for the city.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“If I was the administration, I would fire all of them. This is so selfish,” said Councilman Miguel Luna. “They don’t even understand how much trouble we’re in when we’re not going to be able to make payroll in a few months. What benefits are you going to protect when you don’t even have the monies to pay them?”
City and union officials also oppose unionizing the fire chiefs because they say it would blur the lines between managers and employees.
“These are bosses and they don’t belong in the union,” said Marc Gursky, a prominent state labor attorney who represents Local 799 of the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Fire chiefs seeking compounded COLAs
“I’m not sure this is what is best for the Fire Department,” said Councilman Luis Aponte. “I think there needs to be a distinct and unambiguous line in any organization between the management and the worker bees. … I think this might blur this line significantly.”
If the state recognizes the union, it would be the first of its kind in the state, according to Gursky. (While there are other departments with senior officers who are unionized, those officers tend to be line chiefs and are part of the regular union.)
One of the anticipated benefits of unionization would be compounded cost of living adjustments (COLAs) in retirement.
The effort to unionize is being led by Michael Morgan, the Department Investigative Officer who sought a demotion to regular firefighter last December so that he could obtain union benefits, as first reported by GoLocalProv. When his voluntary demotion was rescinded, Morgan filed for retirement, claiming that because he was a member of the union for a few days he should still get the compounded COLA.
The fire chiefs also want to be able to collectively bargain over the cost of health insurance, overtime pay, and other benefits, said their attorney, Brian Goldberg.
Attorney: Chiefs trying to save their jobs
Goldberg disagreed with Luna that the timing is bad. In fact, he said the officers are prepared to offer concessions to the city, saying that unionization could actually end up saving money. “They want a chance to address the city and help the city with the budget crisis,” Goldberg said. He declined to disclose what those concessions might be.
In return for making concessions, he said the officers merely hope to save their jobs.
In March, the new administration eliminated positions across city government. The the fire chiefs say they were disprorportionately affected by the cuts. Out of the 13 eliminated positions, four were in the Fire Department.
In a memo to the State Labor Relations Board they say they were punished for trying to unionize: “The elimination of chief’s positions is part of the tactics, coercion, and force used by the City to retaliate against the Petitioners for their efforts to try to unionize and protect their collective bargaining rights,” the chiefs state in their memo.
Now, Goldberg said the union is proposing that the city eliminate about 10 more non-union positions as a way of saving $6 million in the department budget.
Gursky confirmed the union is seeking a reduction in the number of chiefs. “The union would like to see the positions … restructured in a way that is more effective operationally,” he said. “Generally what they’re saying is there are too many chiefs and not enough direct line incident commanders.”
So far he, said the reductions and vacancies in senior positions do not seem to have affected the operation of the Fire Department. “Somehow, fires are being put out and rescues are getting to the hospital without 15 of these 24 jobs,” Gursky said.
Fire chiefs were receiving $400,000 in extra benefits
One Fire Department source says the chiefs were galvanized into action after GoLocalProv reported last December that 17 senior staff in the Fire Department were receiving $400,000 in benefits that either violated or were not authorized by city ordinance. Had they been in a union, the officers would have automatically received those benefits.
Before pursuing unionization, the fire chiefs last year tried to get the City Council to pass an “Equity Ordinance,” which would have granted them the same benefits as union members. But after Local 799 President Paul Doughty withdrew his support for the ordinance, it never came to a vote. Doughty told GoLocalProv he opposed it because he wanted to make sure the city first agreed to a new contract with the union.
City Council President Michael Solomon said the fire chiefs should not have expected that they deserved the same benefits. He noted that they chose to become chiefs knowing they would have to leave the union. “They’re not union. Nobody should feel as if they’re entitled to the same benefits,” Solomon told GoLocalProv. “If that’s the case maybe they should join the union.”
While the chiefs may not get the same benefits as union members, they typically are paid higher salaries. In fact, four of the chiefs who want to be in the union made GoLocalProv’s list of the top 25 highest paid city employees in 2010, with their annual pay ranging from over $130,000 to about $170,000. In fact, the third highest paid city worker was Battalion Chief Alan Horton, at $176,228.
But Goldberg said the higher compensation does not make up for the loss of union benefits. Unlike union firefighters, he said the higher-ranking fire chiefs have to be on call 24 and 7 for emergencies. And, if they are called back to work, he said that they do not receive overtime. (However, city pay records indicate that they did receive overtime and callback pay in 2010. Horton, for one, was paid $68,000 in overtime.)
Would two Fire Dept. unions violate the law?
Whether the State Labor Relations Board approves the petition for a union hinges on a key question: Are the fire chiefs really managers?
Gursky says there’s no question they are. “I think supervisors are not supposed to be unionized. They are in a position where they have power and control over the other employees,” Gursky said. “Obviously it’s inconsistent for them to be in the union.”
But Goldberg contends that the chiefs don’t perform the duties of supervisors that are spelled out in labor law. “They don’t hire. They don’t promote. They don’t do discipline,” Goldberg said. “They don’t do any of these things.”
The city and Local 799 also say that state law does not allow a Fire Department to have two unions. “For management to join the same collective bargaining unit as the rank and file would be inappropriate,” said Melissa Withers, spokeswoman for Mayor Angel Taveras. “For management to create a new bargaining unit would be in violation of the law.”
But Goldberg said he knew of other public employees that had done so. For example, he said some teacher aides in Tiverton were allowed to form their own union, instead of being required to join the regular teacher union. “Until I’m shown otherwise, I don’t think that it would be illegal,” Goldberg said.
The State Labor Relations Board held an informal hearing on the Providence fire chiefs’ petition yesterday. The board is expected to have a closed meeting on the issue later this month.
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