New Orleans Fire Fighters Win Dispute Over Pay Raises

March 5, 2007 – The Times-Picayune is reporting that a Civil District Court judge has ruled that New Orleans, LA Local 632 fire fighters are entitled to full and appropriate longevity raises.

Read the Times-Picayune story:
N.O. firefighters win dispute over raises (03/03/07)

In this ruling – the latest in a long-running dispute with the City over years of unpaid raises – Judge Kern Reese found that the calculation that the City used unilaterally stripped away legally conferred benefits, and created hardships of unwarranted pay cuts to fire fighters. Because of these deficiencies, the City was ordered to implement the longevities mandated by the courts and proposed by fire fighters. The City says it will appeal.

“Mayor Ray Nagin has been trying to ignore court orders and give fire fighters less than they are owed,” says IAFF General President Schaitberger. “It’s time for the City to honor its commitment.”

Nick Felton, president of New Orleans Local 632, says the fire fighters are happy with the decision. “We got most of what we wanted,” he reports.

In January, the City began paying fire fighters state-mandated individual longevity raises that it had refused for years to implement, as well as a 10 percent across-the-board raise that the City Council approved last fall despite New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin’s opposition. But the pay of approximately 70 fire fighters actually went down while others received an increase, but not the amount expected. The City was then ordered to recalculate how it is paying the fire fighters.

In his decision, Judge Reese said that any salary increase calculation should include City longevity raises, state longevity raises, supplemental pay and millage pay. The City had argued that credit for previous City longevity raises should no longer apply when the state-ordered raises were implemented and that fire fighters were not entitled to benefit from two sets of longevity raises.

Reese’s ruling rejected the City’s position, and ordered the City to “explicitly follow the orders of this court and implement the longevity increases” mandated by state and previous court decisions retroactive to September 1.

Low wages have made it difficult for the New Orleans fire department to hire and retain fire fighters – particularly following Hurricane Katrina. Local 632 members continue to struggle to recover in other ways as well. Firehouses are in disrepair, damaged equipment hasn’t been repaired or replaced, and fire fighters are using their own money to buy toilet paper.

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