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Lawsuit filed by police, fire unions
HUNTINGTON — Unions for the Huntington police and fire departments filed a motion in Cabell Circuit Court this week alleging that staff changes and overtime controls implemented by Mayor David Felinton constitute bad faith bargaining and retaliation for a lawsuit they filed in June regarding health insurance.
In the motion, the unions cite a letter that they received from Felinton in June saying that he intended to alter health insurance, but would not change other provisions in their current collective bargaining agreement.
The motion, filed Monday, is the latest chapter in the ongoing labor dispute between Felinton and the police and fire unions. Felinton announced in June that he was unilaterally changing health insurance plans for all city employees and retirees, which prompted the unions to challenge Felinton’s decision in court.
Circuit Judge John Cummings ruled a few days later that Felinton could proceed with the new plan for employees, but must provide police and fire retirees with benefits under the old plan for four more months.
Huntington officials say Cummings’ ruling translates to approximately $400,000 in additional health insurance costs during the fiscal year that began July 1.
To offset those additional costs, Huntington Fire Chief Greg Fuller, with Felinton’s blessing, implemented overtime controls earlier this month that effectively reduced the number of firefighters on some response vehicles. The other options were to close one of the fire department’s six stations or take a fire truck out of service, Fuller said.
Within the fire department union’s collective bargaining agreement is a provision that requires three firefighters to staff the department’s emergency response vehicles at all times. The department has nine front-line emergency vehicles: Six pumper trucks, two ladder trucks and a heavy-rescue unit.
Under the new staffing provisions, the six pumper trucks are still staffed with at least three firefighters, but the ladder trucks and heavy-rescue unit are staffed with only two people. Overtime is not granted unless staffing falls short of these new guidelines. The changes took effect Aug. 2.
Fuller has said the change should save the fire department about $200,000 this fiscal year. Felinton also has requested that the police department cut $200,000 from its $10.6 million budget.
In the motion filed this week, the firefighters’ union “asserts that the City of Huntington acted in bad faith by implementing the staffing reductions and resulting loss of unscheduled overtime while IAFF Local 289 and the City of Huntington are engaged in bargaining over a successor contract.”
The unions also allege that Felinton implemented the overtime controls and staffing reductions as retaliation for the unions’ lawsuit over health insurance changes. The unions request that Cummings appoint a labor mediator to help both sides hammer out a new contract.
Felinton could not be reached for comment Friday.
The motion is part of the original lawsuit that the unions filed against the city in June. Cummings has not set a date to hear the motion, but entered a scheduling order earlier this week that all litigation and discovery work in the lawsuit be completed by March 2009.
