Lewiston Firefighters Ass'n, Local 785, Intern. Ass'n of Firefighters, AFL-CIO v. City of Lewiston

• Decision Date: 01 March 1976
• Docket Number: AFL-CIO
• Citation: 354 A.2d 154
• Parties: 92 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2029 LEWISTON FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION, LOCAL 785, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS,, et al. v. CITY OF LEWISTON et al. LOCAL 1828 OF COUNCIL 74 and Lewiston Patrolman's Unit of Local 1828 v. The POLICE COMMISSION OF the CITY OF LEWISTON et al.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

Page 154

354 A.2d 154

92 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2029

LEWISTON FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION, LOCAL 785, INTERNATIONAL

ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, AFL-CIO, et al. v. CITY OF LEWISTON et al.

LOCAL 1828 OF COUNCIL 74 and Lewiston Patrolman's Unit of Local 1828 v. The POLICE COMMISSION OF the CITY OF LEWISTON et al.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

March 1, 1976.

Ranger, McTeague & Higbee, P. A. by Patrick N. McTeague, Brunswick, Stephen P. Sunenblick, Augusta, for plaintiffs.

Kenneth C. Young, Jr., Lewiston, Ranger, McTeague & Higbee, P. A., by Patrick N. Mc.Teague, Brunswick, for defendants.

Before WEATHERBEE, POMEROY, WERNICK and ARCHIBALD, JJ.

WEATHERBEE, Justice.

This case involves appeals from two related actions decided in the Superior Court in Androscoggin County. The first, brought by the Lewistown Firefighters Association, Local 785 of the International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO (hereinafter the Firefighters Union) against the City of Lewiston, sought damages, injunctive relief and a declaration of rights and duties arising from the City's alleged violation of a parity pay provision in the Lewiston City Charter and in several of the collective bargaining agreements entered into be the parties since 1966.

The second action, brought by the Lewiston Patrolman's Unit of Local 1828 of the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees (hereinafter the Police Union) against the Firefighters Union and the City, sought a declaration that the parity pay provision in the City's Charter had been impliedly repealed by the passage of the Municipal Public Employees Labor Relations Law (MPELRL) and, also injunctive relief against the parity pay provision's operation. Both the Police and the Firefighters Unions now appeal to this Court from decisions adverse to them.

The factual underpinnings of these two suits are somewhat entangled but may be summarized as follows.

In 1965, the Legislature enacted two pieces of legislation of particular import to members of the Lewiston Fire Department. First, it amended the Lewiston City Charter to require that firefighting personnel '(should) receive a weekly rate of compensation in an amount no less than that of equivalent officers and privates in the Lewiston Police Department.' P. & S.L., 1965, ch. 33, § 1. Secondly, it enacted the Firefighters Arbitration Law (P.L.1965, ch. 396) which permitted firefighters to be represented by a labor organization and to bargain collectively with their municipal employers, ¹ a privilege not yet granted to other public employees.

Firefighters in Lewiston then organized, chose the Lewiston Firefighters Association, Local 785, International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO, as their collective bargaining representative and entered into a series of employment contracts with the City, all of which provided, in some form or other, for parity pay between the Police and the Firefighters.

In 1969, the Legislature enacted the MPELRL (26 M.R.S.A. §§ 961-72) which extended to all municipal employees the rights to organize and bargain collectively.

On November 25, 1972, in accordance with the remedies provided by its collective bargaining agreement, the Firefighters brought a labor grievance before a Board of Arbitrators, claiming that the City had compensated its firefighters at a weekly rate less than that of persons of equivalent rant in its police force in violation of both the City Charter and their employment contract with the City.

Before the Arbitrators had reached their decision, the Firefighters Union brought its complaint against the City, its Aldermen and the members of its Fire Commission, charging these defendants with violating the parity pay provisions of both the City Charter and their employment contract and seeking money damages, a declaratory judgment as to the parties' rights under both the Charter and the contract and injunctive protection against future breaches. ² The defendants answered denying any violations and asserting as affirmative defenses: (1) that the subject matter was presently before the Board of Arbitrators; (2) that the statute of limitations had run; (3) that laches, based upon the Firefighters' failure to object to earlier similar discrepancies in compensation, barred relief; (4) that the subsequent enactment of the MPELRL repealed by implication the parity pay provision of the Charter; and, (5) that the parity pay provision in the contract was not bargained for but was included only to conform to the Charter mandate.

In the meantime, implementing the rights given them by the MPELRL, the Lewiston Patrolman's Unit of the Police Department had selected a collective bargaining agent, Local 1828, and had entered into an employment contract with the City Council and the Police Commission on January 1, 1971. This contract determined wages and conditions of employment from that date until January 1, 1974, but permitted the parties to renew collective bargaining for a new wage scale at the end of the first or second years of the contract. The Police Union served notice for such collective bargaining which began in September, 1971. During the ensuing bargaining, each side offered a new wage proposal which was rejected by the other.

Factfinding was requested (26 M.R.S.A. § 965) in an attempt to resolve this impasse. The factfinders recommended acceptance of the police wage proposal and the patrolmen, not surprisingly, voted to accept this recommendation. ³ The City authorities, however, refused to comply with the recommendation, contending that the City had already entered into a contract with the Firefighters Union, that the parity pay provision of the City Charter prohibited any increase in police pay without a simultaneous corresponding increase in the Firefighters' wages, and that the City did not have sufficient finances to fund both increases.

On April 20, 1972, after extended negotiations, the Police accepted a City wage offer with the condition that, if requested, renegotiation would begin in January, 1973.

When the Police requested renegotiation on January 1, 1973, the City refused to negotiate until the new pay period beginning January 1, 1974, contending that the City Charter compels the City to compensate Firefighters at a weekly rate 'no less' than that received by equivalent ranks in the Police Department and that because the City and the Firefighters already had a new contract providing for wages through December 31, 1973, it could not now raise the Police salaries without breaching its contract with the Firefighters.

The Police Union then brought its action against the Police Commission, the Lewiston City Council and the Firefighters Union, asserting that the parity pay provision in the City Charter is inconsistent with and repugnant to the MPELRL which repealed that provision by implication, and that the MPELRL obligated City to bargain in good faith with respect to wages. The Police Union sought a declaration that the parity pay provision was repealed by implication and prayed that the operation of this provision of the charter be enjoined.

The municipal defendants answered, joining in the request for a declaratory judgment. The Firefighters Union argued that, as an alleged prohibited labor practice, the Police claim was within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Public Employees Labor Relations Board (now the Maine Labor Relations Board) and as such was barred by the statutory six-month statute of limitations (26 M.R.S.A. § 968(5)(B)).

Both the Police and the Firefighters Unions moved for summary judgment on the Police Union's complaint. The parties to the Firefighter's complaint agreed to submit all legal issues to the presiding Justice, while stipulating to arbitrate those issues left unresolved by final adjudication.

The Justice dismissed the Police complaint, ruling that it alleged a refusal to bargain collectively, a prohibited practice in municipal public employer-employee labor relations, exclusive jurisdiction over which is vested in the Public Employees Labor Relations Board by 26 M.R.S.A. § 968. The Police Union appealed this ruling.

The Justice then turned to the Firefighters' complaint and met the issue common to both actions-the validity of the parity pay provision in the Charter and the Firefighters' contracts. The Justice ruled that the broad scope and design of the MPELRL impliedly repealed the parity pay provision in the Charter.

He then addressed the Firefighters' contention that, regardless of the status of the Charter provision, the right to parity pay should be enforceable as a matter of contract. Holding the contract provision invalid, the Justice determined that the parity pay provision was included in the contract only because the Charter required it and that, even if its inclusion were the result of voluntary collective bargaining, such an agreement is void as contrary to the policy of the MPELRL.

On the question of the period of time that the arbitrators may consider in determining allowable damages representing parity pay, the Justice held that because the right to parity was statutory and not contractual, the proper limitation period was the six-year statute of limitations on civil actions and not the six-month limitation on grievances found in 26 M.R.S.A. § 968(5)(B). Alternatively, he held that if the grievance procedure limitations do apply, they should be applied by the arbitrators and not the Court. Finally, he held that if the Court must consider such defenses, questions concerning the amount of parity pay due under expired contracts prior to the enactment of the MPELRL would properly be before the Arbitrators because of continuous and successive contracts agreeing to parity pay. He held that neither the Court nor the Arbitrators could, however, award damages representing parity pay for any period more than six years prior to the commencement of the Firefighters' action.

The Justice issued a judgment in favor of the...