Administrative judge recommends reappointment of YFD Battalion Chief

The City of Youngstown has suffered a blow in what has become a heated battle with the union representing city firefighters.
An administrative law judge has recommended that the State Employment Relations Board order the city to re-appoint a fire captain to the position of Battalion Chief and give him back pay.
The recommendation is included in a seventeen-page proposed order submitted by Administrative Law Judge James Sprague for consideration by SERB.
SERB is a three-member panel appointed by the governor to settle disputes over the Ohio Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Act.
In this case, the Youngstown Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 312 argued that the city engaged in an unfair labor practice by putting the union in a position of either receiving new radio equipment needed for their safety or pursuing a grievance against the city’s decision to reduce the number of Battalion Chief positions.
According to the union, the city threatened that it would get the money to pay for radio system improvements by not filling two Battalion Chief positions when they became vacant.
The union argued that Standard Operating Guidelines call for each shift to be assigned two Battalion Chiefs.
During a fire, the first ranking officer to arrive on the scene is in charge of the entire fire site. The second Battalion Chief to arrive becomes the Safety Officer, who oversees the safety of all personnel on the fire scene.
In November, the city council voted to reduce the number of battalion chiefs from six to three through attrition. The administration said the reduction would save the city about $130-thousand dollars with each position.
Shortly thereafter, fire Captain Chad Manchester was demoted back to his captain’s job after serving as Battalion Chief for just one day. The newly vacated Battalion Chief position was then abolished. This had the immediate effect of leaving one turn short of a Battalion Chief, according to the proposed order.
YFD Chief Barry Finley said that he has contacted Fire Chiefs from various municipalities and learned that the Youngstown Fire Department had one of the highest staffing levels per capita of any of the departments he examined.
Finley said that fire runs have decreased over the last 20 years.
“A preponderance of the evidence in the extant record confirms that, time and again, the City interfered with the Union in its ability to carry out the rights of its members guaranteed by Chapter 4117. of the Ohio Revised Code,” wrote Sprague in his proposed order. “Although more likely by operation than by design, the fact remains that the City presented a series of false, coercive, and discomforting choices to Union President Charlie Smith and Union Secretary Tracey Wright.
In addition to recommending that the city stop interfering with the employees' bargaining rights, Sprague is asking SERB to order the city to reinstate Captain Manchester to the position of Battalion Chief along with granting him back pay.
It isn’t known when the State Employment Relations Board will consider Sprague’s recommendation. SERB’s next scheduled meeting date is April 30, 2020.