Charges Fly Over Firefighters' Picket Line
This story appeared in the Nutfield News on March 13, 2008

The picketers had lined up on either side of the building’s rear entrance, creating a picket line gauntlet for those leaving the council meeting to walk through.

Derry police said the department had no involvement in the incident and forwarded a complaint to the state Attorney General’s office.

The Public Integrity Unit will conduct a review of the complaint and determine whether sufficient evidence exists for an investigation. Part of the Attorney General’s office, the unit handles disputes between public officers or elected town officials, although a spokesperson from the state office admitted that typically the unit deals with cases of a more severe nature.
The Attorney General’s office would not offer a timeline as to how long it would require to review the complaint.

Two fire union contracts representing firefighters and fire officers were turned down last month when Councilors Coyle, Carney, Janet Fairbanks and Beverly Ferrante voted against the agreement.

When Fairbanks exited the building, picketers called out, “thanks for your vote.”
After consulting with their lawyers, the fire unions filed paperwork with the state labor board last week.

“We believe the town did not bargain in good faith,” said Garry Williams, president of the fire unions, the evening of the picketing. “They have not followed their own ground rules that they signed.”

The town allegedly told all parties involved in the contractual process not to discuss the specifics of the contract in the media.

Last month, Coyle voiced his concerns to the Nutfield News regarding the unions’ vacation time and an employment clause in the fire contract. In addition, during last week’s council meeting, the council publicly compared the health insurance buyout for the police supervisors union to what was offered in the fire unions’ agreements.

“In the meeting that we just attended, I think you heard the conversation going back and forth between the councilors,” Williams pointed out. “Some of the reasons that a couple of the councilors voted no on our contract were not part of the ground rules they gave their own negotiators.

“We don’t feel that the town negotiating team for Derry has very much credibility right now,” Williams added.

The fire union has spent over 14 months in negotiations with the town.

“I want to assure the citizens of Derry that they are our first and foremost concern, and there will not be any lack of respect or dedication of the members of the Derry Fire Department,” insisted Williams, moments before the town councilors arrived on the scene.

In an e-mailed statement issued the day after the picket line incident, Coyle and Carney leveled their accusation.

“We are fathers to young children and husbands first and foremost, and to think that even one member of the fire department could for a second think about not responding to an emergency in either of our homes, or to the homes of any resident in a timely and appropriate manner, is beyond our comprehension,” the statement read.

The councilors thanked the fire department administration for “reaching out to both of our families.

“Unfortunately, we have yet to hear from the fire union itself, which is discouraging and disappointing,” Coyle and Carney wrote.

Speaking for the fire unions, however, Williams refuted the councilors’ claim, but admitted that if such a comment had been said, “it was inappropriate.”

In a letter published on Page 4 of this edition, Williams said no threatening statements were made by picketers toward anyone.
He noted that, following the March 4 picket line, Coyle referred to the fire union as “a group of thugs.”

“We take offense to that,” Williams said.

Unlike some of the town councilors, the fire unions have “no intentions of negotiating any contracts in the media,” insisted Williams. The contract that failed last month, however, was considered reasonable by the unions.

“There were several changes in the new agreement that the firefighters and fire officers may not have liked at the time, but they did accept them because they felt overall it was a fair agreement for them and also for the taxpayers,” said Williams.

The fire unions are still in active negotiations with the town, according to the town’s human resource director, Larry Budreau. Williams, however, said the unions had not heard from town in the few weeks.

“The ball is in their court as far as I’m concerned,” he concluded.