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| North Kingstown Firefighters reported to work on Sunday morning only to be told the 3-platoon structure would remain in place. (Photo by Tracey C. O’Neill) |
North
Kingstown –
As all parties head back to court today to present oral arguments in the Town
of North Kingstown’s case against the State Labor Relations Board (SLRB), its
firefighters union NKFFA International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local
1651 (Union) and now the assigned Judge Brian P. Stern, the unmistakable,
obvious and spoken motive in carrying the relentlessness litigation forward is
union-busting.
“What
was surprising was the Board’s undisguised, partisan pro-union rhetoric,” said
Town Manager, Michael Embury in a September 29 memo.
Responding
to the September 27, SLRB Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) decision to immediately
return the firefighters to their previous known platoon and shift structure,
Embury was dug in against any Union prevalence in the long, volatile battle.
Earlier
that day, Embury successfully blocked an attempt by Union members to implement
the SLRB order, when firefighters reported for duty under both the 3-platoon
and 4-platoon structures. In a memo sent on the 29th one hour prior to the
scheduled 7:30 am shift change, Embury wrote:
“If any employee or employees fail to
abide by this order and/or participate in the Union’s job action, referenced
above, the employee (s) will be subject to discipline up to and including
termination of employment.”
The
7-case scenario, condensed in a court administrative action last week, is
rooted in the Town’s implementation of unilateral changes to the department
structure. The Town, in March 2012, outside the realm of collective bargaining,
moved its firefighters from 4 to 3 platoons, implementing 24 hour shifts and a
56 hour a week structure, outside the realm of collective bargaining.
When
Stern takes the bench later this morning, he will hear the Town’s Motion for
Recusal, an attempt to remove him from the proceedings, alleging bias on the
part of the court, as well as oral arguments for and against the SLRB Petition
for enforcement of their Unfair Labor Practices order.
Stern
in a parallel action in December 2012 ordered the Town to “Unring the Bell” and
restore the firefighters to the 4-platoon structure, awarding them all back pay
and benefits as would have been paid at the end of the 2010-2011 contract. The
SLRB’s decision and order is in agreement with Stern’s decision, now on appeal
to the Supreme Court.
The
Town’s unilateral changes were later deemed by both the courts and SLRB to be
contrary to collective and good faith bargaining practices.
Embury
and Liz Dolan, Town Council President disagree averring that the Town Charter
bestows managerial rights upon them that take precedence over rights of
employees – even those who have collective bargaining as their sole labor
negotiation pathway.
“Under
the Town Charter we can make necessary managerial decisions and changes,” says
Embury in a recent interview. “We feel strongly that the Charter supports our
position here. If the Union doesn’t have to abide by the decisions that we make
under the Charter, where are we?”
Collective
bargaining, however, is the only protection afforded the Town’s firefighters,
who also serve as their emergency services personnel. In Rhode Island, public
safety personnel are prohibited by law from normal course union labor actions
such as work stoppage, striking and sick-outs.
Both
Judge Stern, in his December order and the SLRB held that the ordinance enacted
by the town implementing the structure changes “on its face affects subjects
which are very clearly items which must be bargained for pursuant to the FFAA.”
The
SLRB further noted that the Town did not assert their management right argument
“until sometime in December 2012, well after the issuance of the interest
arbitration award from the preceding year and after the exchange of initial
proposals for the 2011-2012 year.” The Board also averred that the Town did not
during submission of any of its contract proposals state the management right.
The
State Labor Relations Board through their Unfair Labor Practices actions
against the Town along with the Judge Stern’s Supreme Court “Unring the
Bell” order concur that the Town did not bargain collectively and in fact
operated in “bad faith.”
In
its September 27 order the SLRB called the Town out on its attempt to change
the parameters of the collective bargaining process.
“We believe the Employer (Town) knew
full well that it was engaging in an unlawful practice when it unilaterally
changed the terms and conditions of employment and did so in an effort to ‘push
the envelope’ within the labor relations community.”
The
parties went before Judge Stern in Kent County Superior Court this morning at 11
a.m.
