Politics & Government
U City Firefighters Sue City, Officials
The firefighters union sought a return to contract negotiations.
The Professional Fire Fighters Union of Eastern Missouri, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2665, the union that represents firefighters in the University City Fire Department, has filed suit against the City of University City.
Also named in the suit are Mayor Shelley Welsch, Fire Chief Adam Long, City Manager Lehman Walker and all six members of the city council. All are named in their professional capacity to the city.
The suit accuses the city of failed to negotiate in good faith with the Firefighters Union. Quoting from the filing:
"In fact, Respondents have stated by and through their legal counsel that the law imposes no duty on it to collectively bargain in good faith with Local 2665. The City, by and through City Manager Walker, has stated, in writing, that the only duty it has is to meet and confer with the Local. This position flies in the face of the recent holding of the Missouri Supreme Court in American Federation of Teachers V. Ledbetter, which no requires public employers not only to meet and confer with the employee's bargaining representatives, but requires them to do so in good faith, with the intent and purpose of reaching an agreement."
Kurt Becker, District Vice President of IAFF Local 2665, told Patch the suit does not impact the service city residents receive.
"We want to make two things clear: We do not believe the city is treating us fairly," he said. "And nothing the city does to us weakens our dedication to keeping the residents of University City safe."
The Union sought a Writ of Mandamus to compel the City of University City to return to a collective bargaining table with Local 2665. Judge David Lee Vincent ordered negotiations between the two parties continue and appointed Booker Shaw as mediator.
"This is grandstanding," Walker said of the suit. "The city is under no obligation to begin negotiating until August and it was always our intent to do so."
The suit claims the firefighters union sought modifications to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that governs the employee/employer relationship between the City and the firefighters. The current MOU went into effect Aug. 11, 2010, and set to expire June 30, 2011. It contains a provision which automatically renews the agreement every two years, unless one of the parties seeks a modification in writing 30 days prior to the expiration date.
Local 2665 sent a written request for modifications to City Manager Walker on Jan. 31, 2013, according to the lawsuit. The union sought seven changes to the agreement, the suit claims, and four of those would financially impact the city.
The four financial modifications include:
- The Local wished to discuss modification of the compensation model currently in place for the City's firefighters/paramedics
- The Local wished to bring the City's health and wellness program into compliance with national standards
- The Local wished to discuss the manner in which the City calculates its firefighter/paramedic pensions and
- The Local wished to discuss holiday pay for its members, which is provided to non-uniformed City employees but not given to firefighters/paramedics.
The city council passed the budget Monday, June 10.
The letter from Walker does not push the negotiations to August, but asks that they resume in July. Quoting from the April 30 letter:
"I, of course, do not want to wait until August to meet again to negotiate However, there are several pressing matters before the City that require my undivided attention, including budgetary issues. These issues need to be resolved prior to reaching an agreement with the Firefighters. Therefore I am postponing further negotiations until July. In the meantime, the fire department will continue to operate under the current agreement."
Walker said the two parties are slated to meet July 13.
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