PARIS — For the second time in less than a month, Teamsters union Local 340 is filing a complaint against the town with the Maine Labor Relations Board.
This time it claims bad faith bargaining regarding the part-time firefighters union, according to Lorne Smith, Local 340 secretary-treasurer and bargaining agent.
There are 17 per diems in the union.
The first complaint filed in June cited prohibitive practice, saying it was illegal to change the per diems’ schedule while the union and town are in negotiations.
“Also while the negotiations are taking place the town is to maintain the ‘status quo’ while negotiations are ongoing. That is state of Maine Law,” Smith said.
In the latest complaint, Smith accused Town Manager Vic Hodgkins of refusing to answer his questions Monday regarding the future of the Fire Department.
“We met with the town manager yesterday and he refused to answer any questions concerning what the town planned on doing with the Fire Department,” Smith said in an email. “I wanted to talk about the per diems. Vic refused to speak and left the meeting.”
Smith said he sent the town a letter demanding to bargain.
“It forces the town to come to the table within the 10 days,” he said, adding he was given dates six to 10 weeks out.
“Due to sensitivities of the situation and ongoing contract negotiations, I am not going to comment,” Hodgkins said Tuesday.
Smith also took issue with many statements Budget Committee Chairman Rick Little made in his July 4 post on the Oxford Hills, Maine, Town Square Facebook group. In his post, Little spoke of a meeting he had last fall with a “number” of per diem firefighters.
“I was told Brad Frost called them [the Teamsters] and set up the meeting,” Little wrote about the town’s former fire chief who retired last August.
“This is false, it was not Brad Frost the Teamsters spoke with,” Smith said in a written rebuttal to Little’s statement. “Point is the employees called, they voted. The Majority certified the Union.”
Frost agreed it “never happened.”
“I had nothing to do with when they called the union or setting it up. I had nothing to gain by it,” he said.
Frost said he told Little, Hodgkins and Board of Selectmen Chairman Scott Buffington he did not start the union.
Little confirmed this encounter with Frost, saying he met with him for two hours last week.
“After 50-plus years in that department, I have to believe Brad,” Little said. “I don’t like the games, the politics and being lied to. To me, if somebody lied to me there is a reason they lied to me.”
Little said he was told the per diems wanted a uniform allowance and more pay and “as the Budget Committee chair I made sure these demands were in this year’s budget.”
He added that even with $145,000 cut to the Fire Department budget passed at the June town meeting, there is still money for these items. His intention was to get rid of the per diem system, go back to an all-volunteer department and cut the fire chief’s annual salary to a $5,000 stipend, plus hourly wages.
According to Smith, there are three things the per diems have asked for:
* Pay similar to surrounding areas;
* A reasonable uniform allowance; and
* A consistent form of scheduling, which they are willing to discuss with the town.
“The Firefighters have not asked for any extra benefits, no pension, no health care, no holidays, and they did not ask for full time, or overtime,” Smith wrote. “The employees wanted to negotiate a system for filling shifts as most of them work other jobs. They also wanted a fair system for handling call-outs when someone canceled a scheduled shift.”
He said ending the per diem program was not discussed over the past year or so.
“So why the cut?” Smith asked, noting it was retaliatory. “The cut was made to try and punish the employees for forming a union.”
Little said, “Absolutely not.”
“I am not anti-union, I like lower taxes … I have an issue with unfunded liabilities in the budget,” he said.
Little added he was a member of the Teamsters for five or six years.
Cost
Hodgkins did not have a total cost so far for union negotiations for the per diems, but for the month of May, attorney fees on that subject were $6,836. He expects another bill for the month of June next week.
At town meeting, voters allocated $20,000 for legal services.
The Teamsters are also in mediation with the Police Department and Administration unions. Smith reported having issues negotiating with all three bargaining units.
“We have met multiple times on all units and we have nothing,” he said, adding he sent 10-day letters for all three unions.
eplace@sunmediagroup.net
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
