A war of words is raging between the union representing career firefighters in Greater Sudbury and some members of city council, as each side takes turns responding to one another on social media.
News emerged last week that the Sudbury Professional Firefighters union lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Labour, alleging fire chief Trevor Bain had been harassed by two members of city council.
While names were not released, Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini and Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier have been the most publicly outspoken on the fire optimization plan that was presented to the public last spring. The controversial plan said harmonizing fire response times in the city would require hiring dozens more full-time firefighters and reducing reliance on volunteers.
The union filed a complaint about the councillors with the city, but last week said an independent body – the Ministry of Labour -- should investigate.
On the weekend, Montpellier and Vagnini responded in a joint letter. They said the behaviour of the union in this case has violated their privacy, and the matter should have been handled internally through bringing in a third party to investigate.
“What happened instead is retaliation by staff with no input or consultation, as was requested by the emergency services committee,” the letter said. “Staff fired three volunteer firefighters for apparently speaking out against the plan.”
The letter goes on to say the root of the controversy was the decision to present the report to the public before city council.
“Staff presented a plan to the public, council didn’t receive a report,” the letter said. “How it normally works is staff presents a report to council, council consults with the public, then vote on it. This did not happen.
“More than once staff was asked for these meetings to cease, however city staff and the union persisted.”
The letter also questions why a union is filing a grievance on behalf of its non-union boss.
“What is the motive behind the firefighters union using rank and file member’s union dues, time and money to influence the public and put pressure on city staff to defend the non-union boss? This action is probably the first in our country; union money and time spent defending the feelings of the non-union supervisor, no wonder their members are upset.”
And Ward 5 Coun. Bob Kirwan, on his Facebook page, took aim at 'interest arbitration,' the process by which police, firefighters and other essential services negotiate contracts. Because they can't strike, the workers have their contracts determined by binding arbitration.
But, Kirwan writes, the interest arbitration awards have led to decisions such as the 24-hour shift schedule, in which firefighters work a round-the-clock shift, and are off several more days a month.
“The 24-hour shift is used by 85 per cent of all firefighters in Ontario right now from what I understand, but that does not appear to be in the best interests of the municipality,” Kirwan writes.
“Many people question a job where you work seven days out of 28. We agree that you are working a total number of hours that would be required if you were working eight hour days, but there are many municipalities where this schedule was forced upon them through arbitration.
“I think the 24-hour shift schedule needs to be re-examined.”
Kirwan goes further to suggest Greater Sudbury may not be able to afford such a large contingent of full-time firefighters.
“Many also understand that the city may not be able to afford operating full-time career stations in Sudbury any longer,” he writes. “It is time to consider whether a composite model would work just as well and apply that to the former City of Sudbury. These are items that are food for thought and merit further discussion.”
On its Facebook page, Rob Hyndman, president Ontario Professional Firefighters Association, responded that, despite what some councillors say, it was city council that asked for the optimization report.
“It was council’s decision to have public input sessions that caused the controversy and it was council’s decision to not accept a factual peer reviewed document highlighting significant deficiencies in funding for buildings, equipment and staff,”the post says. “Optimization is the product of council, not those they tasked with bringing back the facts.”
As for changing the arbitration process, the post said it was a recipe for labour battles.
“If the majority of council adopt councillor Kirwan’s philosophy, we will undoubtedly be back in front of an arbitrator,” the post said.
“As an (International Association of Fire Fighters) advocate for locals in the interest arbitration arena as well as your provincial president I can tell you that both of those items will be a significant uphill battle for the employer.
“Whether he and councillor Montpellier and Vagnini’s recent social media posts amount to 'association interference,' an unfair labour practice as defined by the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, is not for us to determine but an issue to be presented to the Ontario Labour Relations Board. I would expect our local executive board will be exploring all options to ensure the corporation adheres to all applicable statutes.”
