Pennsylvania Firefighters Want Wage Arbitration Hearing Open To Public

From The Morning Call, January 31

EASTON, PA – Easton firefighters want the public to know what's been going on behind closed doors with regard to their labor contract, starting with an invitation to the press and public to attend today's 10 a.m. arbitration hearing in City Hall council chambers.

"I don't know if it was ever open before," said firefighter Terrance Hand. "I just think it would be good for everybody to see what's going. We have nothing to hide."

But an invitation from the firefighters' union may not get you through the door.

Chief of Staff Stu Gallaher said the city's attorney has advised the administration the hearing should be closed.

A three-member panel of arbitrators that began hearing testimony Jan. 20 probably will decide whether to keep the doors open or closed at the start of today's session.

The state law that allows police and fire union contracts to be settled through binding arbitration, Act 111, does not specifically require the hearings to be closed.

But traditionally, the arbitration sessions in Easton have not been public events. However, two City Council members attended portions of the Jan. 20 hearing.

Councilwoman Carole Heffley said the information the fire union presented was informative and could be of interest to the general public.

Under Act 111, the union and the city administration each are allowed to select one arbitrator each. A neutral arbitrator also is selected.

According to Hand and Gallaher, the arbitrators for the city and union disagree on whether the hearing may be open to the public.

Hand, who is on the negotiating team, said that could leave the decision up to the third arbitrator since there appears to be no laws that directly address the question.

According to the rules of the American Arbitration Association, any person with a direct interest in the arbitration is entitled to attend the hearings. The rules further state it is up to the arbitrator to determine the propriety of the attendance of any other person.

Since the outcome of the arbitration will lead to a labor contract paid for with public money, Hand said, it seems to him the public and press should be permitted to observe.

He said the public also will have a better understanding of why the negotiations ended in an impasse, requiring arbitration.

"We don't want people guessing about what happened or guessing about why we got something a certain way," Hand said. "They [the administration] always try to make us a look like the bad guys."

The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 713, which represents about 40 city firefighters, has been working without a contract since Dec. 31.

The city's two other labor unions, the police and non-uniformed unions, settled their contracts last year. For the Fraternal Order of Police Washington Lodge 17, it was the first contract settled in recent history without arbitration.

Hand said the firefighters also wanted to avoid arbitration because the legal fees make it more costly for the union and the city.