Arbitrator Agrees with Attorney Barrault that Haverhill Wrongly Underpaid Fire Alarm Supt

A collective bargaining agreement with Haverhill Fire Fighters Union, Local 1011 IAFF clearly required the City of Haverhill to pay Captain's rate to the Superintendent of Fire Alarm (SFA), according to a new arbitrator ruling. Attorney Leah Barrault represents Local 1011. The Arbitrator, whose Award is attached below, agreed that the contract language was clear and that the individual in the SFA position actually performed the duties of an SFA. As a result, she ruled deserved to be paid the SFA rate set forth in the contract, regardless of the actual name given by the City to the position. Stated another way, if it walks like a Fire Alarm Superintendent and talks like a Fire Alarm Superintendent, then he deserves to be paid like a Fire Alarm Superintendent under the CBA.

The Arbitration represents the latest victory in a long-running dispute between Local 1011 and the City about the SFA position. Since 2016, the City has paid only Lieutenant's rate of pay to the individual performing SFA duties, by arguing that it created a new, wholly different position of "Dispatch Supervisor." The independent Arbitrator agreed that the City's claims were unpersuasive because there is no Dispatch Supervisor under the CBA, and the position was not created in the manner set forth in the CBA.