Arbitrator Sides With Key West Fire Fighters in Staffing Grievance

January 26, 2010 – A Florida arbitrator recently ruled in favor of Key West, FL Local 1424 in a minimum staffing grievance against the City of Key West. The arbitrator said that the City failed to meet the conditions of the collective bargaining agreement and that fire fighters should be compensated for any overtime they should have accrued while meeting the minimum staffing clause.

“Local 1424 fire fighters feel like the arbitrator has issued a fair and just decision in this case,” said Local 1424 President Arnold Caballero. “All we ever wanted was for the City to make good on the conditions of our contract,”

During contract negotiations in September 2007, the City of Key West and Key West Local 1424 negotiated the addition of a shift commander, bringing the minimum staffing levels to 15 per shift.

Specifically, the contract states: The employer agrees to use every reasonable effort to have four (4) combat personnel on duty per fire truck at the three (3) fire stations and two (2) combat personnel on the ladder truck or fourteen (14) combat personnel on duty per shift (City-wide) and one (1) shift commander.

Beginning in February 2008, the City began wavering on the 15-person minimum staffing levels. In fact, on 48 documented occasions, the City failed to comply with the collective bargaining agreement by letting the staffing levels fall below 15 between February 22, 2008, and August 10, 2008.

Local 1424 filed grievances for noncompliance each time a shortage occurred, but the City denied the claims, pointing to the contract condition that the City make “every reasonable effort” to maintain minimum staffing.

The City claimed that it decided to fall below the minimum levels because they did not want to deplete the overtime budget. “Essentially, the City negotiated the contract provision knowing there wasn’t enough money to accommodate 15 fire fighters per shift,” says Caballero.

The issue eventually went to an arbitrator, but it took several months before the case was heard. For the hearing, Local 1424 presented evidence showing that other City departments went over their overtime budget, some by as much as 200 percent. Evidence also demonstrated that the City ended the fiscal year $1.7 million under budget. Some of that money could have been used for overtime.

After all evidence was submitted and testimony was heard from both sides, the arbitrator ruled that the fire fighters who should have worked overtime in order to meet the 15-person minimum staffing clause should be made whole financially.