Memphis, TN Local 1784, has sued the city, claiming it failed to honor the impasse ordinance and violated a binding agreement to provide fire fighters a 5% raise in 2025.
“Our Local 1784 members are not just going to stand idly by and let the city ignore the impasse resolution and the conditions of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding),” 14th District Vice President Danny Todd said. “We implore the courts to send a strong message and stand with us. Otherwise, the results will likely be that we will be opting for one-year agreements, instead of taking a risk with multi-year MOUs.”
Local 1784 officials and the city administration were negotiating the labor-management agreement last year but reached an impasse on the wage issue.
By city ordinance, when two sides have unresolved matters, the issue(s) go before the city council for final resolution. The council voted in favor of the union’s final offer in May 2024, unanimously approving the raise and the three-year term of the agreement.
Memphis Local 1784 and city officials formalized the agreement in October 2024 by signing a Memorandum of Understanding that included a 5% pay increase for 2025.
It was supposed to be a done deal.
But when the city council approved the budget, it included a 3%pay increase for all city employees – shorting the fire fighters 2 percentage points, or 40% of the agreed-upon increase. If the 5%is not restored,fire fighters will lose more than $200,000 a month in collective wages.
“It’s not just that they violated our MOU, it is also that they also did not honor the impasse resolution,” Local 1784 President Thomas Malone said. “The impasse process has been in place since 1978, when fire and police were forced to go on strike when an agreement with the city could not be reached. It’s worked well until now.”
The suit was filed in Shelby County Chancery Court, where it is pending.
