by Michael Monks
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THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE
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UNION: CITY COMMITS UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE, REQUESTS BACK WAGES
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| Attorney Susan Durant prepares to listen to testimony during Thursday's hearing at City Hall |
The Commission Chambers at City Hall served as a courtroom Thursday morning as Covington's firefighter union versus city administration battle reached the state level. Attorney Susan Durant was sent to Covington from the Kentucky Attorney General's office to serve as the hearing officer in a back-and-forth that began more than a year ago. "Y'all have dealt with this for a great deal of time, I have not," Durant said from the seat that is usually occupied by Mayor Chuck Scheper, "so rather than filling in the blanks by guesswork I will be asking a number of questions."
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Local 38, the Covington firefighters chapter of the International Association of Firefighters, claims that the City of Covington engaged in unfair labor practices when it unilaterally moved to change the fire department's minimum manning standards from thirty on-duty firefighters to twenty-seven, the current mandate. The union lost its argument in Kenton County Circuit Court early last fall. This time Local 38's grievance is being heard by the Kentucky Labor Cabinet where a board will receive Durant's recommendation and will decide whether or not to agree. That recommendation will not come from Durant today.
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"I have always found the statute that governs unfair labor practices to be confusing from my point of view," Durant said, noting that only one such claim arrived in her office in the previous ten years but that now a slew of complaints are coming in. Covington's is the first to receive a hearing, much of which was an encore performance of testimony on both sides that was heard in the Kenton County courtroom last year. The firefighters' union maintains its claim that the City did not negotiate in good faith when a minimum manning agreement was agreed to in November 2010. Just three months later the City requested to lower the number of on-duty firefighters.
"I have always found the statute that governs unfair labor practices to be confusing from my point of view," Durant said, noting that only one such claim arrived in her office in the previous ten years but that now a slew of complaints are coming in. Covington's is the first to receive a hearing, much of which was an encore performance of testimony on both sides that was heard in the Kenton County courtroom last year. The firefighters' union maintains its claim that the City did not negotiate in good faith when a minimum manning agreement was agreed to in November 2010. Just three months later the City requested to lower the number of on-duty firefighters.
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"This not a hearing on the city's finances," said Local 38's attorney Buddy Wheatley, a former Covington Fire Chief. "Being unable to pay is not a defense for bad faith bargaining." Covington City Solicitor Frank Warnock disagreed, just as he did last year in front of Judge Gregory Bartlett. "We don't operate in a vacuum here," Warnock said. "They want to operate in a vacuum and it just doesn't work. The city manager must present a balanced budget. We cannot operate on a deficit. It is not allowed."
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Covington's precarious financial situation which includes a projected $20 million budget deficit by 2017 according to the city finance director motivated city administration to see concessions in health care coverage from its employees and a lower minimum manning agreement from the fire department. The agreement reached in November 2010 included a provision that the number could be revisited if a "significant condition" arose. Warnock argued that the projected deficit amplified by the loss of large employers Omnicare and the Nielsen Company qualifies as a significant condition.
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"Their effort is to keep the city from talking about its financial situation but that is very much in play," Warnock said. "We cannot do things the way we did thirty years ago. They lost in (Kenton Circuit Court) and they didn't like that so they filed this unfair labor practice complaint when they didn't get what they wanted at the state court. If you accept Local 38's argument there is no endgame in this."
"Their effort is to keep the city from talking about its financial situation but that is very much in play," Warnock said. "We cannot do things the way we did thirty years ago. They lost in (Kenton Circuit Court) and they didn't like that so they filed this unfair labor practice complaint when they didn't get what they wanted at the state court. If you accept Local 38's argument there is no endgame in this."
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| Mike Holtman testifies at City Hall |
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Not so, Whealtey countered with his first witness, retired Covington firefighter Mike Holtman who is a previous president of Local 38. Holtman pointed to figures from the National Fire Protection Association that suggest for a city the size of Covington, forty firefighters on duty at all times. When negotiation the minimum manning for the Covington firefighters, the union agreed to thirty in recognition of the city's coffers. "We knew that would be challenging financially for the city," Holtman said.
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"So Local 38 does take seriously the finances of the city," Wheatley asked.
Not so, Whealtey countered with his first witness, retired Covington firefighter Mike Holtman who is a previous president of Local 38. Holtman pointed to figures from the National Fire Protection Association that suggest for a city the size of Covington, forty firefighters on duty at all times. When negotiation the minimum manning for the Covington firefighters, the union agreed to thirty in recognition of the city's coffers. "We knew that would be challenging financially for the city," Holtman said.
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"So Local 38 does take seriously the finances of the city," Wheatley asked.
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"Yes."
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Local 38 maintains that their grievance is not whether Covington faces a budget deficit but whether the city negotiated in bad faith and broke an agreement in a signed contract. City Manager Larry Klein expected the hearing to continue all day.
Local 38 maintains that their grievance is not whether Covington faces a budget deficit but whether the city negotiated in bad faith and broke an agreement in a signed contract. City Manager Larry Klein expected the hearing to continue all day.
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