Albuquerque President Back to Union Work

March 5, 2010 – The County of Bernalillo Second Judicial District Court in New Mexico has ruled in favor of Albuquerque Local 244 in its prohibited practice lawsuit against the City of Albuquerque. In its ruling, the court ordered the City to honor the collective bargaining agreement by allowing Local 244 President Diego Arencon to return to his 40-hour work week exclusively dedicated to union business.

“In this case, the language in the labor-management agreement was very specific,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “The local president is a valuable asset to not only Albuquerque fire fighters, but also to the community as a whole. It would behoove the City to embrace this fact.”

“I am thankful that the court has handed down this just ruling so that I can focus on the business of not only serving and protecting Local 244 members, but also ensuring that the community continues to receive high-quality public safety services,” says Arencon.

In January 2010, Local 244 filed the suit after the City ordered Arencon to report to the fire administration for assignments, which would not include conducting union business. The move was in direct violation of the labor-management agreement which states: “To develop a more cohesive relationship between the union and the Albuquerque Fire Department, upon the request of the union president, to place the union president on a 40-hour work week for union business.”

Mayor Richard Berry and his administration alleged that New Mexico state statute does not allow City employees to conduct union business on City time. But, when the case was reviewed in court, District Judge Theresa Baca found no discrepancy between New Mexico State statues and City employees receiving regular pay while conducting union business.

As litigation continued, Local 244 presented several witnesses, including Arencon, former Local 244 President and current Fire Chief John Garcia, former Fire Chief Robert Ortega and others.

The testimony brought forth several key points: (1) Contract language allows union presidents to use work hours for union business and (2) The practice has been ongoing for more than 12 years.

Additionally, it was noted that allowing union presidents to conduct union business during regular work hours prevented labor unrest, allowed personnel issues to be resolved quickly, enabled the union president to be the voice of Albuquerque fire fighters during state legislative sessions and made it possible for the union to work toward securing life- saving resources – such as a new paramedic rescue unit – for the City.

During the legal proceedings, the court noted that the City did not provide any testimony or evidence that contradicted the union’s position. Therefore, the court ordered that Arencon be allowed to return to his 40-hour work week consisting exclusively of union business.

"Throughout this legal process, I am proud to say that my executive board and I continued to work hard for our members," says Arencon. "We have a proud membership of over 850 active fire fighters who depend on us. Words cannot express how thankful I am to the dedication the executive board has shown throughout this process."

Despite this positive ruling, Mayor Berry is continuing his anti-labor practices by refusing to meet with Local 244 and other unions on important topics such as the $20 million shortfall in the FY 2010 budget and the projected $54 million shortfall in the FY 2011 budget.

Union leaders believe this is due, in part, to Berry’s administration contract with Management Associates Inc. The firm is known around the state to be anti-labor.

“We have some solid ideas on how to work with the City to save money while maintaining public safety and other important services,” says Arencon. “We hope the City and Management Associates will have a change of heart and hear us out before it is too late.”