Pyle Rome Charges Framingham With Violating State Law After Manager Prevents Town Meeting From Funding Fire Fighter Raises
For months, the Town of Framingham promised Local 1652, IAFF, that it would ask Fall Town Meeting to fund an arbitration award that provided for modest cost of living increases for fire fighters. Without any advance notice, Town Manager Robert Halpin worked to remove the funding request from Town Meeting, and providing several inconsistent explanations for his actions. Attorneys Leah Barrault and Ian Russell have filed charges in superior court and with the Department of Labor Relations to enforce the Town's bargaining obligations.
Under Massachusetts law, collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the Town for employees are subject to funding appropriations at Town Meeting. The Town's executive branch - such as Town Manager and Board of Selectmen - have a legal obligation to submit the agreement for funding and to rally Town Meeting support for the request. This obligation also applies to contracts determined by independent arbitration panels
In Framingham, the Town repeatedly informed the Union during the arbitration process that the Town was prepared to submit the arbitration award for funding. The Town set aside an article (Article 8 "collective bargaining agreements") on the Town Meeting Warrant to fund the award. After the arbitration award was issued weeks before Town Meeting, the Town's attorney thanked the arbitrator for the award. He asked for a signed copy that could be offered to Town Meeting members. The Town never suggested the Award was untimely for Town Meeting.
Two weeks later at Town Meeting, Local 1642 President Joe Fonseca noticed that Warrant Article 8 warrant had effectively been slated for deletion from the Meeting. As a result of actions of Town Manager Halpin, the Town Meeting this week was denied the opportunity to fund modest raises for fire fighters. The Town Manager claimed, in part, that the funding request had been removed because it had not been adequately reviewed by the Finance Committee. Town Meeting will not be able to consider basic fire fighter wage increases until April 2016. Fire Fighters have been without a pay increase since July 1, 2013.
The next day, the Town Manager claimed that Article 8 was intended just for another bargaining unit, even though Article 8 referred to multiple agreements and even though that other agreement was not submitted for funding. The Town Manager also claimed that the Award was issued too late to be considered for the Fall Meeting, even though the Town never expressed this concern before and the Town never alerted the Union tho this obstacle. The Union only learned of this delay at Town Meeting.
Because of the Town's failure to seek timely support for funding wage and benefit increases, Attorneys Barrault and Russell have filed actions in Superior Court and with the Department of Labor Relations to seek reinstatement of the funding request at Town Meeting, or reconvene Town meeting to consider the request.
