Lodge 93 of the Fraternal Order of Police represents two collective bargaining units at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in Florida. One is made up of deputies and another of sergeants and corporals. On August 4, 2022, the Sheriff’s Negotiation Team presented a wage proposal to address several concerns raised by Lodge 93 in previous…
Sanja Drinks-Bruder works for the Niagara Falls Police Department. Drinks-Bruder brought a number of claims against the City, alleging that she was “forced to work in unnecessary danger” on July 23, 2019. Drinks-Bruder claimed that she was retaliated against because she refused to take an allegedly unsafe assignment, which consisted of being “locked in a…
Brandon Barth, Mark Campopiano, David Jubinville, Justin Rutkiewicz, and Ryan Shore (the Sergeants) are all sergeants in the City of Cranston Police Department in Rhode Island who sued their union, Local 301 of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, for breach of duty of fair representation. The dispute stemmed from an incident in 2013, when…
Erik Gagne and Barry Wallett are liquor control agents for the State of Connecticut. Their union issues a quarterly newsletter to its members, and its 2018 spring and winter newsletters contained the following quote from Cynthia Dill, a State Senator: “Choosing to work where there is a union and getting the related benefits of higher…
Augustine Eddy was a firefighter with the Pascoag Fire District in Rhode Island and was a member of Local 4908 of the International Association of Firefighters. In 2016, Eddy’s job performance was such that the District presented him with a plan for remedial training to address complaints from his partner regarding his job performance. Eddy…
As a New York corrections officer learned, claims that a union breached its duty of fair representation can have a very short statute of limitations. Elizabeth Case worked for the Shawangunk Correctional Facility. On March 24, 2019, while on duty, Case contacted Steven Marasco, her representative for the New York State Corrections Officers Police Benevolent…
Teamsters Local 760 represents three bargaining units of employees with the Yakima County Department of Corrections. One unit contains corrections chiefs and lieutenants; one unit contains corrections officers, corporals, and sergeants; and one unit contains clerical employees. Andrew Martin has been a Corrections Sergeant since June 1, 2010, and served as a shop steward until…
Paul Richards was employed by the City of Redmond, Washington as a firefighter and was in a bargaining unit represented by Local 2829 of the IAFF. On January 31, 2019, the City informed Local 2829 via email that it was considering disciplinary action against Richards, including the possibility of termination of employment. As part of…
Todd Hatfield was an assistant fire chief for the City of Grayling, Michigan. He also completed his police academy training and was certified by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), although he continued to work primarily as a firefighter and filled in for police duties as needed. Hatfield was part of a bargaining…
In a factually bizarre case, the General Counsel for Florida’s Public Employment Relations Commission stressed what is and what is not covered by a union’s duty of fair representation. The unfair labor practice charge was filed by Marcus Brinson, an internal affairs investigator for the University of Florida Police Department (UFPD). Brinson is a member…
Sanja Drinks-Bruder has been employed as a Niagara Falls, New York police officer for approximately 25 years and is represented for bargaining purposes by the Niagara Falls Police Club. On October 20, 2016, at approximately 6:10 a.m., she was sent to the scene of a fatal traffic accident. Despite her repeated requests to be relieved…
Joseph Juisti, who is Caucasian, was hired in or about April 2013 as a police officer for the City of Chester Police Department in Pennsylvania. Juisti worked in this position until January 2018, when he left work due to stress and anxiety stemming from perceived discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. Juisti was represented by the Fraternal…
Kevin Burger is a police officer with the Detroit Transit Police and a member of the Detroit Transit Police Officers Association. The Association is affiliated with the Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM). Burger filed a claim with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, alleging that the Association and POAM had breached their duty of fair…
A recent Michigan case provides a good case study of the discretion accorded unions in decision-making on grievances and when a union’s decisions implicate or do not implicate the duty of fair representation. The case involved Antoinette Loyd, who works for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. Loyd filed an unfair labor practice complaint against her…
There are perhaps as many misconceptions about the duty of fair representation as any other principle in the public safety workplace. The duty, which is owed to all bargaining unit members, captures a union’s obligation to fairly represent all its members without discrimination. The duty is not, however, a substantive duty, in that it never…
An unusual series of events involving Chicago firefighter Paul Foertsch produced a decision involving the scope of a union’s duty of fair representation to employees on acting assignments out of the union’s bargaining unit. The Chicago Fire Fighters Union represents all full-time uniformed members of the Chicago Fire Department below the ranks of Deputy District…
Firefighter James Coyle is a dues-paying member of Local 4420 of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), which represents the Pasco County firefighters in Florida. Coyle filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against Local 4420, alleging that he sought assistance from Local 4420 in February and March of 2017 to remedy a pay…
Nancy Newfer is a corporal for Wayne County, Michigan Sheriff’s Department. On November 12, 2016, Newfer and another officer were involved in an incident at the jail. Newfer was interviewed by Internal Affairs Division employees about the incident and signed a statement. The other officer was later discharged; his conduct during the incident played at…
When the Stamford, Connecticut Firefighters Association refused to process to arbitration a grievance challenging the termination of firefighter Donald Berg, Berg filed a complaint with the Connecticut Board of Labor Relations. The Board found that not only had Berg’s employer, the Long Ridge Fire Company, discharged him without just cause, but also found that the…
Richard Kelly, a Ferndale, Michigan firefighter, brought an unfair labor practice charge against his union, Local 812 of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Kelly claimed that the Union’s failure to arbitrate his grievance challenging a reprimand and two-shift suspension violated Local 812’s duty of fair representation. Michigan’s Employment Relations Commission dismissed the ULP complaint.…
Jon Gray had been a deputy sheriff for the City and County of San Francisco for almost ten years when his employment was terminated on October 6, 2008. He later brought a federal court lawsuit against his labor organization, the San Francisco Deputy Sheriff’s Association, claiming the Association violated its duty of fair representation. Gray…
Laurie Bisch is an officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Officers in Metro are represented by the Las Vegas Police Protective Association (PPA). In 2008, while Bisch was off duty, her dog bit her daughter’s 17-year-old friend. Bisch took the girl to an urgent care facility for treatment. Unable to contact the girl’s…
Anthony Maio has been a New Haven, Connecticut police officer for 15 years. On April 19, 2008, the Department sent Maio on an unspecified assignment which resulted in two citizens accusing Maio of criminal conduct. On June 4, 2008, Maio was arrested for sexual assault and unlawful restraint. While the criminal matter was pending, Maio…
