LINCOLN — A drab conference room in Nebraska's State Office Building became the latest battlefield Wednesday in Omaha's protracted labor negotiations with its fire union.
A state arbiter held a daylong hearing on the fire union's complaints about the City Council's rejection of a proposed contract that the union negotiated with Mayor Jim Suttle. The State Commission of Industrial Relations hearing also served as a preview for other legal battles over the fire contract.
Attorneys for the city and fire union spent hours questioning city officials — including Councilwoman Jean Stothert, City Clerk Buster Brown and acting labor relations director Steve Kerrigan — as well as fire union President Steve LeClair about years of labor negotiations, legal conflicts and financial issues.
Commissioner William G. Blake of the state labor court heard Wednesday's testimony. Both sides' attorneys must submit written filings by Oct. 14. The proceedings largely focused on one question: Whether the City Council's recent actions on the proposed fire contract were done in bad faith.
John Corrigan, attorney for the fire union, said that's the case.
The council retroactively modified provisions that had been agreed to during the negotiation process, he said, and has floated regressive bargaining proposals and proposed unilateral changes to fire union members' terms and conditions of employment. He also said the council refused to vote on the negotiated contact, which had been ratified by the fire union membership.
"All of these things, combined, establish an instance of bad-faith bargaining," Corrigan said.
Bernard in den Bosch, an assistant city attorney representing the city, defended the council's actions.
"They're performing their legislative duties. They're immune from any liability as a result of that," he said. "When it comes to the city as a whole, I think we've bargained in good faith. We worked with the parties to come up with the best deal. Sometimes, deals you negotiate don't get approved."
In May, Suttle and the fire union announced a contract agreement after years of negotiations. Sixty-eight percent of voting fire union members later cast ballots to approve the deal, which would have run through 2013.
Union officials filed the complaint alleging bad-faith bargaining in late August against council members Pete Festersen, Tom Mulligan, Chris Jerram, Franklin Thompson and Stothert after they voted for amendments to the proposed contract — shortening its term and making health care benefit changes.
The council lacked the votes, however, to pass the amended version.
In a subsequent meeting, the council voted to place Suttle's original contract on file, essentially killing it. The council then took over labor negotiations from the mayor's administration.
The union's complaint asks that the City Council be ordered "to cease and desist from its continued pattern and practice of bad faith bargaining."
The union also has sued the city in the CIR for back wages for 2010 and 2011.
Council members, in their legal response to the union's accusations, denied most of the allegations and said they "have legislative immunity from any action taken in this matter." Further, they said, the union's complaint itself "is in bad faith and is attempting to undermine the legislative function of the City of Omaha."
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