Sept. 24--WATERTOWN, NY-- Despite rumors, there is no new movement in the stalled contract talks between the city and the firefighters union.
Last week, there was talk about a compromise in the works to lower the "minimum manning" requirement in the contract for 15 firefighters on duty at all times down to 13 firefighters.
But Daniel Daugherty, president of Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191, and City Manager Sharon A. Addison dispelled the rumors.
Mr. Daugherty insisted the union's negotiating team has not offered a compromise involving the minimum manning clause in the contract.
"Nothing has changed," he said Friday, disputing the city and the union were working behind the scenes to end the three-year contract dispute.
Asked how the rumors began, Ms. Addison said she doesn't foresee the labor dispute getting resolved before Jan. 1, when a new City Council takes office. She insisted the city will not back down from the hard stance it has taken during the dispute.
"The city is not softening its position," she said.
The city contends that the minimum manning stipulation causes the department to be overstaffed, while the union maintains that changing it would be unsafe.
The 70-member firefighters union has been without a contract since July 2014.
The minimum manning requirement has become a contentious campaign issue during this year's City Council race, with the subject coming up at a recent political forum with the candidates.
In what he called a campaign "White Paper," City Council candidate Cliff G. Olney III proposed reducing the minimum manning stipulation from 15 firefighters to 13 working at all times. He proposed taking the heavy rescue truck off the road and assigning its two firefighters to other vehicles. It's part of a 10-point restructuring plan to save $1.8 million over several years.
He got the idea from a firefighter who came up with the proposal in 2016, but the plan did not gain traction then. In his version of the proposal, Mr. Olney got help on the document from Capt. Todd R. DeMar, who ran a controversial campaign for City Council two years ago while working for the fire department.
So far, Ms. Addison has not taken a stance on his plan. She had a recent phone conversation with Mr. Olney about his views on the issue and plans to review his policy statement.
In a press release last week, Mr. Olney urged the city and the union to get back to the negotiating table. It's costing taxpayers too much money, he said.
Mr. Daugherty made it clear Friday the union has no interest in his minimum manning proposal. Talks can only resume if the city makes a new offer, he said.
City Councilwoman Teresa R. Macaluso also believes Mr. Olney's proposal is dead on arrival because the union will never support it. She reiterated her frustration that the bargaining unit won't budge on the contract and doesn't see how talks can resume.
"I don't see pulling off a miracle before Election Day," she said.
The contract talks became increasingly bitter after eight captains were demoted to firefighters last July. The eight lost about 20 percent of their annual salaries when they were demoted, while the city made the change to save about $100,000 a year.
The two parties are still involved in legal battles on several fronts.
The city still hopes to take an arbitration case involving the captains' demotion to the state's highest court.
In a unanimous decision on July 7, the state Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in Rochester, denied the city's request for a permanent stay from arbitration involving an issue with eight demoted captains. The bargaining unit won its case in its entirety at the Appellate Division level.
The city needs two Appellate judges to agree to allow the city to take the case to the Court of Appeals, so it can petition that court to take it.
"The city is appealing an appeal of an appeal," Mr. Daugherty said.
If the state's highest court decides against hearing the case, the arbitration case is expected to move forward this fall. If that doesn't happen, it will probably take a year to resolve the issue.
The state Public Employees Relations Board must rule on the minimum manning issue before the two sides can agree on a new contract.
The union's attorney, Nathaniel Lambright, believes it's highly unlikely that the case will ever go to the state's highest court. And the city's attorney, Terry O'Neil, knows that, Mr. Lambright said.
"All this is doing is delaying justice and at the taxpayers' expense," he said.
For months, Mr. Daugherty has insisted the city is using the delay strategy to wear down the union and end the stalemate.
But Ms. Addison denies the city is trying to do that. She said the city is cooperating with court and PERB officials on the still pending cases. To keep the cases moving forward, the city provides all information requested by them, she added.
As part of the ongoing dispute, the city is taking another arbitration case to the Appellate Division in Rochester.
The city hopes to stop the case involving firefighters working out of title from going to an arbitrator. Attorneys will be arguing the case in Rochester on Nov. 29.
In all, the two sides have 11 cases still in court and before PERB officials, Mr. Daugherty said.
The three challengers in the council race all have called for firing Mr. O'Neil -- the Long Island attorney who works for the law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King -- because of the growing costs in legal bills associated with the firefighters' dispute.
Ryan Henry-Wilkinson, who's campaigned on the issue, advocates for the lawyer's immediate dismissal "as a goodwill gesture" that would show that the city wants to resolve the stalled contract.
The city has spent about $400,000 on legal expenses.
"I don't want to waste money on something we can do on our own," he said.
Mr. Olney and candidate Lisa L. Ruggiero agree that the city's attorney should be terminated, but they would wait to see how the move would impact the city's ongoing legal actions against the union.
"It may not make sense to do it amid these court cases," Mrs. Ruggiero said.
Councilwoman Macaluso believes the union is invoking a strategy of taking its chances with the challengers winning election in November and getting what it wants from the new City Council.
After spending so much on the matter so far, the city needs to keep Mr. O'Neil on board, she said. Just this week, she received about 10 calls from constituents urging council to keep up the fight against the union.
"I think we need to see it through," she said.
So far, the union has accumulated about $200,000 in legal bills from the Syracuse law firm of Blitman & King.
Dispelling a rumor that the local union is heavily funded by outside resources, the bargaining unit has only received $1,400 from the International Association of Firefighters to help pay for the legal expenses, Mr. Daugherty said.
The fight with the firefighters' union will most likely continue play a role in the council race.
Mr. Olney looks forward with meeting with the city manager about the fire department issues. He said the three challengers have been invited to meet with her about it.
But Mrs. Ruggiero said the session will be more about the three challengers finding out about how city government works and meeting department heads.
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