The Atlanta Professional Fire Fighters Local 134, the firefighters’ union, announced a lawsuit against the City of Atlanta for canceling the union contract it signed with the union last year and failing to fulfill the terms of the agreement.
According to the lawsuit, the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the union was ratified by the Atlanta City Council in April 2025.
Dickens signed the resolution approving the contract a few days later, but communications from the fire department months later said the contract had not been signed and the city would not fulfill the obligations laid out until all parties had executed the agreement.
On June 9, 2025, Atlanta Fire Chief Roderick M. Smith sent a memo to firefighters with a copy of the CBA pledging the department’s commitment to carrying out the terms.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
However, lawsuit says the union chapter filed a grievance against Atlanta requiring implementation of a new pay cycle and automated salary increases, and the city told the union the contract was not in effect and that officials would not participate in the grievance arbitration process.
Six months after the contract was ratified, on Oct. 29, 2025, the union lawsuit says the city abrogated the CBA, meaning it repealed or declined the agreement.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Inmate told judge to ‘keep the change’ during bond hearing. But, judge says he couldn’t
- Elderly man with dementia vanished, came home with new car; family says dealership took advantage
- Former Kroger manager in DeKalb says he was fired for protecting elderly co-worker from shoplifters
Before that date, the union said Smith’s position in June, from the chief’s memo to firefighters, was that the contract document was “a living document” and “its effectiveness depends on our collective commitment to its principles,” with Roderick saying the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department was committed to fulfilling its responsibilities from the contract terms.
“Because the City continues to deny its firefighters the benefits of their CBA, IAFF Local 134 was forced to file this breach of contract action,” the union said in its lawsuit.
After the city and IAFF got into a contractual disagreement regarding terms for new Fire Sergeant eligibility requirements, Smith told the union it was important to keep the process for modifications to the CBA consistent and offered during labor-management committee meetings.
The union filed a grievance in late September with AFRD’s Chief of Staff over allegations that the City of Atlanta had failed to implement new pay cycles for union members and failed to automatically update salary tiers.
After a month, the union escalated the grievance, filing their complaint with the city’s Human resources Commissioner and asked for a date to set the next committee meeting for review of the CBA.
Days later, the AFRD Chief of Staff sent an email to the union saying the CBA had not been signed yet and so it could not be implemented until it was fully executed by all required parties.
IAFF said this was the first time Atlanta officials had said the CBA was not in effect, despite the previous processes.
The union accuses Atlanta of denying benefits of the contract even after entering into a binding CBA, and is refusing to participate in the arbitration process with the union, “abrogating the CBA in totality.”
The union is seeking damages for alleged violations of contract and alleged violations of the Georgia Firefighter’s Mediation Act and is demanding a jury trial.
In response to the lawsuit, and questions to city officials about the contract’s status, the Atlanta Mayor’s Office sent the following statement:
“Mayor Dickens has always been committed to signing a collective bargaining agreement with the representative union members choose. Questions surrounding the legitimacy of the recent election, with calls from both members of Local 134 and national leadership to rerun it, cannot be ignored. Ensuring a fair and democratic process must come first.”
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
