City of Belvidere v. Illinois State Labor Relations Bd.

• Decision Date: 20 February 1998
• Docket Number: Nos. 82231,82249,s. 82231
• Citation: 181 Ill.2d 191,692 N.E.2d 295,229 Ill.Dec. 522
• Parties: , 229 Ill.Dec. 522, 158 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2427 The CITY OF BELVIDERE, Appellee, v. The ILLINOIS STATE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD et al., Appellants.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 295

692 N.E.2d 295

181 Ill.2d 191, 229 Ill.Dec. 522, 158

L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2427

The CITY OF BELVIDERE, Appellee, v. The ILLINOIS STATE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD et al., Appellants.

Nos. 82231, 82249.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Feb. 20, 1998.

[229 Ill.Dec. 523] [181 Ill.2d 192] Gilbert Feldman, Cornfield & Feldman, Chicago, for Belvidere Professional Firefighters.

Roberta L. Holzwarth, Holmstrom & Kennedy, P.C., Rockford, for City of Belvidere in No. 82231.

Thomas W. Duda, Arlington Heights, for Amicus Curiae Associated Firefighters of Illinois in No. 82231.

Jim Ryan, Attorney General, Civil Appeals Div., Chicago, for other interested parties in No. 82231.

Jim Ryan, Attorney General, Civil Appeals Div., A. Benjamin Goldgar, Assistant Attorney

[229 Ill.Dec. 524] General, Chicago, for Illinois Labor Relations Board in No. 82249.

Justice BILANDIC delivered the opinion of the court:

This appeal arises out of a decision and order of the Illinois State Labor Relations Board (Board), finding that the City of Belvidere (City) had committed an unfair labor practice under section 10(a)(4) of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act (Act) (5 ILCS 315/10(a)(4) (West 1994)). The Board determined that the City had committed an unfair labor practice because it refused to bargain with the Belvidere Professional Firefighters Association (union) over its decision to contract out paramedic services to a private ambulance company. The Board found that the City's unilateral decision to contract with a private company to provide paramedic services to City residents involved a mandatory subject of collective bargaining. The Board therefore ordered the City to rescind the contract with the private ambulance company and engage in collective bargaining with the union.

The City sought review of the Board's decision and order in the appellate court. The appellate court reversed, holding that the City's decision to contract with a private company to provide paramedic services was not a mandatory subject of collective bargaining. 283 Ill.App.3d 663, 218 Ill.Dec. 840, 670 N.E.2d 337. As such, the City's refusal to bargain did not amount to an unfair labor practice.

The Board and the union filed petitions for leave to appeal with this court. We allowed the petitions and consolidated the appeals. 166 Ill.2d R. 315. We also permitted the Associated Firefighters of Illinois to file an amicus curiae brief in support of the Board's decision.

For the reasons that follow, we affirm the decision of the appellate court, which reversed the Board's decision and order.

BACKGROUND

In 1974, the City purchased its first ambulance and began providing its residents with emergency medical services (EMS) through its fire department. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act (EMS Act) (210 ILCS 50/1 et seq. (West 1994)) governs the provision and regulation of EMS in Illinois. The EMS Act established three levels of EMS: basic life support (BLS), intermediate life support (ILS), and advanced life support (ALS). 210 ILCS 50/4.06, 4.19, 4.01 (West 1994). The EMS Act also sets forth three corresponding levels of technicians, who are licensed by the Illinois Department of Public Health (Department) (210 ILCS 50/10 (West 1994)) to perform EMS (210 ILCS 50/11 (West 1994)).

The lowest level of licensed technician is an Emergency Medical Technician-Ambulance (EMT-A). 210 ILCS 50/4.12 (West 1994). ¹ An EMT-A renders BLS services, which includes airway management, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, control of shock and bleeding and splinting of fractures. 210 ILCS 50/4.06 (West 1994). The findings of the City's ad hoc committee show that the training requirements for an EMT-A are 140 hours of classroom training and 10 hours of clinical training.

The next level of licensed technician is an Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate (EMT-I). 210 ILCS 50/4.15 (West 1994). An EMT-I is authorized to provide BLS services and certain advanced life support services. 210 ILCS 50/4.15, 4.19 (West 1994). A licensed EMT-I has completed an additional 80 hours of classroom training and 30 hours of clinical training.

The third and highest level of licensed technician is an Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic (EMT-P). 210 ILCS 50/4.13 (West 1994). An EMT-P performs ALS services which include all BLS services and cardiac monitoring, cardiac defibrillation, electrocardiography, administration of antiarrhythmic agents, intravenous therapy, administration of medication, drugs and solutions, use of adjunctive medical devices, trauma In addition to regulating EMS rendered by technicians, the EMS Act also authorizes the Department to license and set standards for the operation of ambulances. 210 ILCS 50/9 (West 1994). The Department licenses ambulances to provide a specific level of service: either BLS, ILS, or ALS. 77 Ill. Adm.Code § 535.100(g) (1994). Every ambulance, regardless of service level, must be staffed with at least two EMTs. 77 Ill. Adm.Code § 535.150(f)(1) (1994). An ILS ambulance must be staffed with at least one EMT-I and an ALS ambulance must be staffed with at least one EMT-P. 77 Ill. Adm.Code § 535.150(f)(3) (1994).

[229 Ill.Dec. 525] care, and other authorized techniques and procedures. 210 ILCS 50/4.13, 4.01 (West 1994). This level of technician requires an additional 360 hours of classroom training and 140 hours of clinical training.

As stated above, the City's fire department began providing EMS to Belvidere residents in 1974. The level of service was less than BLS; however, one or two firefighters began training as EMTs. By 1976, the City required its firefighters, as a condition of employment, to become licensed EMT-As. In 1980, the City purchased and began operating a second ambulance. In the late 1980s, several of the City's firefighters began training as EMT-Is. By 1990, six firefighters had received EMT-I certification, and the City began operating one of its ambulances at the ILS level.

Throughout this time period, when the City received a "911" call, the fire department ambulance had dispatch priority. That is, in response to a "911" call, the fire department dispatcher would send a fire department ambulance staffed with two firefighter EMTs to the scene unless the caller specifically requested a private ambulance. On other occasions, the dispatcher sometimes requested backup assistance from private ambulance companies, which operated ambulances staffed with EMT-Ps. Such assistance was requested when "911" calls came in while the fire department's ambulances were already in service, or when additional emergency medical personnel were needed. At such time, the City's firefighter/EMTs worked alongside the paramedics from the private ambulance companies to provide EMS. Among the private ambulance companies operating within Belvidere at that time was Lifeline Ambulance Service, Inc. (Lifeline).

In late 1989 or early 1990, the City required three probationary firefighters to sign individual agreements to become licensed and certified EMT-Is or EMT-Ps as a condition of employment. The current union's predecessor subsequently filed a grievance complaining that the City contracted separately with individual bargaining-unit members in violation of the collective-bargaining agreement. An unfair labor practice charge was later filed with the Board. The matter was resolved when the City agreed to remove the individual agreements from the firefighters' personnel files. The unfair labor practice charge was ultimately withdrawn because the City agreed to put the paramedic issue on the "back burner" and to notify the union before considering the paramedic issue in the future.

In 1990, during negotiations for a new collective-bargaining agreement, the City and the current union's predecessor discussed proposals for a paramedic program within the fire department. The parties were unable to reach an agreement on such a program, which was therefore not implemented.

Sometime in 1991, two EMT-I firefighters voluntarily downgraded their certification to EMT-A for apparently personal reasons. This action caused the City to be unable to run a properly staffed ILS ambulance. Accordingly, the ILS ambulance was downgraded to a BLS ambulance.

On May 13, 1991, the City's public safety committee created an ad hoc committee to discuss the feasibility of upgrading the City's EMS program by turning over the City's ambulance service to an outside party or providing advanced service within the fire department. The ad hoc committee conducted a survey of the fire department's EMS program of comparable municipalities within geographic proximity to Belvidere. The ad hoc committee also sent a questionnaire to a number of private ambulance companies inquiring as to the level and scope of services that the companies offered and background On October 9, 1991, the ad hoc committee submitted its findings and recommendations to the City's public safety committee. The ad hoc committee recommended that the City's level of EMS be upgraded to the paramedic level. The committee noted that a proposal had been received from the City's firefighters to offer this service. "The terms, conditions, and costs," the committee found, "will need to be set out in a future contract and should be recommended to negotiators." The committee recommended that "should the City institute the program," any firefighters hired after August 1989 be required to obtain paramedic certification. The committee further noted that another option would be privatization of EMS and that four private ambulance companies had expressed an interest in performing the service. However, cost data for such an option could only be supplied if the City assembled bid specifications for the service. Accordingly, the committee suggested that bid specifications be prepared and submitted to the four private companies as a means to compare private paramedic service with paramedic service through the fire department.

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