Local 863 of the IAFF and the City of Newton, Massachusetts are parties to a collective bargaining agreement. Within the Fire Department, Station 4 is the designated building for the training division of the Department. The City instructs all firefighters to report to Station 4 when they need their uniforms or equipment fitted. Additionally, all…
The Shelton Police Union and the City of Shelton, Connecticut are parties to a collective bargaining agreement. On March 10, 2020, Governor Ned Lamont proclaimed a COVID-19 state of emergency. Six days later, the Governor issued Executive Order No. 7D, which stated, in relevant part, “effective at 8 p.m. any indoor gym, fitness center, or…
Robert Morrison was employed by the Hartford, Connecticut School Board as a special police officer. Morrison was also the president of the Hartford Federation of Special School Police Officers, Local 1018D, AFT CT, AFT, AFL-CIO (the Union). On February 28, 2020, the School Board placed Morrison on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an…
Michael Nevin has been employed by the Detroit Fire Department for 33 years and is currently captain of a tactical rescue squad. He was elected president of Local 344 of the IAFF in December 2015. For the first two years of Nevin’s presidency, Local 344 filed no grievances against the Fire Department. During the period…
Timothy Ross is employed as a deputy sheriff by the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada. Ross was the president of the Washoe County Sheriff Deputies Association(WCSDA) as well as the Peace Officers Research Association of Nevada(PORAN). PORAN is affiliated with the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC). In 2016, Ross requested leave to…
The City of Commerce, California and the Commerce City Employees Association are parties to a memorandum of understanding (MOU), California’s equivalent to a collective bargaining agreement. The MOU has a grievance procedure culminating in binding arbitration. The Association filed a grievance over the City’s decision to terminate a member of the Association’s bargaining unit, Sergio…
For years, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Hudson County, New Jersey and Local 109 of the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) has had a provision that “the PBA president shall be granted reasonable release time from work duties to attend to union business during work time, provided that such release time shall in no way…
Many peace officer bills of rights allow employee representatives to record disciplinary interviews. Even in the absence of a statutory bill of rights, a collective bargaining agreement can grant a labor organization the right to record interviews. But what if there is no statutory bill of rights, and the collective bargaining agreement is silent on…
In September 2014, a Hoboken, New Jersey fire captain filed a complaint with the Fire Chief. He alleged that, at two union meetings, two other fire captains harassed him and subjected him to a hostile work environment. The employer investigated the captain’s complaint. It ordered bargaining unit members who were present at the union meetings…
It’s not a public safety case, but a recent decision from the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board has an important lesson for public safety employers and labor organizations. The case involved the Moraine Valley Community College, which terminated Robin Meade for making untruthful statements. Meade was the president of the local teacher’s union. On August…
A question that comes up from time to time is whether a public safety union has the right to discipline its own members. A recent decision from a New York trial court answers that question “yes,” provided that the union has followed its own bylaws in imposing the discipline. The case involved Raymond Montero, a…
Christopher Burgos is a New Jersey state trooper and the elected president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey, the union representing all New Jersey state troopers below the rank of sergeant. As president, Burgos represents the union during labor negotiations and supports union members facing internal discipline, regularly acting as a liaison…
When one of its members was the subject of a disciplinary investigation, the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association assigned Executive Board member Spike Unruh to represent the member. Unruh called three bargaining unit employees who were potential witnesses in the investigation. He told the employees he was representing the employee and asked what they had…
On or about August 8, 2009, the Executive Board of the Merced County Sheriff’s Employees Association (MCSEA) met with the Association’s attorney Barry Bennett to discuss a variety of employment issues. At the meeting, an incident from the previous day was discussed where several inmates at the Main Jail attacked another inmate in the Main…
A question that arises from time to time is whether a labor organization has a right to conduct an investigation concurrently with the employer’s disciplinary investigation. An administrative law judge for Washington’s Public Employment Relations Commission has answered the question “yes,” provided the union’s investigation does not interfere with the employer’s. The case involved the…
On September 9, 2013, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill known as AB 1181. The bill will grant release time with pay for union representatives. Under the terms of the bill, public agencies “shall” allow a “reasonable” number of representatives time off with pay when they are engaged in any of the…
Melanie Stallings Williams and Demosthenes Andrew Halcoussis are professors at California State University, Northridge, and are members of the faculty bargaining unit represented by the California Faculty Association. The collective bargaining agreement has a “fair share” clause allowing individuals to be non-members of the Association if they pay to the Association a “fair share” assessment,…
A Florida statute makes it an unfair labor practice for a public employer to interfere with, restrain or coerce a “public employee” who is engaged in union activity. The Florida Court of Appeals, reversing a decision of Florida’s Public Employment Relations Board, found that an employer’s refusal to hire an applicant could not be covered…
A New Jersey statute provides for paid leave for public safety officers to attend union conventions, but only if they are “affiliated with the New Jersey Policemen’s Benevolent Association, Inc., Fraternal Order of Police, Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association, Inc. or the Professional Fire Fighters Association of New Jersey.” The four organizations are the largest public…
Anthony Ferraioli, Aldrin Lamboy, and Dawn Fray are police officers with the City of Hackensack, New Jersey. In June 2008, an election for the position of delegate to the New Jersey Police Benevolent Association (PBA), a labor organization representing police officers, was held in the locker room of Police Department headquarters. As all three officers…
Shawn Hallinan and Wayne Harej are longtime City of Chicago police officers and were members in good standing of the City’s police union, Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police. Hallinan and Harej were opposed to the policies of Lodge 7’s president, Mark Donahue. During the March 2005 election cycle, Hallinan and Harej formed…
When the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were unable to agree upon a collective bargaining agreement, their disputes were resolved by an arbitrator. One of the provisions in the Arbitrator’s award was that Union officers should be released from duty and “shall be paid by the Commonwealth at the amount designated…
Scott Nichols has been a trooper with the Michigan State Police (MSP) for 19 ½ years, and has been the representative for the Michigan State Police Troopers Association at the Lansing post. In 2007, the MSP was considering a reorganization plan that would have transferred part of Clinton County, Michigan away from the Lansing post.…
