ATLANTA — The union representing firefighters in Atlanta is now suing the city.
Leaders say it’s because the mayor and city aren’t upholding their part of a collective bargaining reached last year.
She’s been digging into the 60-page lawsuit.
The union says it protects every firefighter in the city.
The collective bargaining agreement is now the center of a lawsuit filed by the Atlanta Professional Firefighters against the city of Atlanta.
The Local 134 Chapter says they came to an agreement with the city last April.
It changed firefighters pay cycle from 28 days to 14, and they had been operating under it for the past six months.
Then a dispute arose.
“The fire chief actually sent an email stating that there wasn’t a signature on the contract, even though it had been ratified and approved by the mayor, and that’s why he thought it wasn’t valid,” said union president Nate Bailey.
He told me they continued to ask for the signature, but they never got it.
Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement that says he’s always been committed to signing the agreement but that there might be an issue with the election process of Local 134.
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.
— The city of Atlanta
Bailey said that’s “something that has nothing to do with the government or the CBA.”
He also said getting a valid agreement impacts every single firefighter and their families.
“Getting a correct paycheck and not having to stress if you’re missing 12 or 24 hours of pay is a big deal,” Bailey said.
They say it would also save taxpayer money.
Local 134 says litigation is moving forward.
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