Mayor suspends firefighters who took sick day

NORTH PROVIDENCE - To the firefighters' union, it was two men taking a sick day, following proper procedure. To the mayor, it was a "sick-out," and the town is suspending them for 10 days without pay.

Lombardi said that firefighters Algot Abrahamson and Joseph Brophy reported to work on Sept. 29, but within minutes both told the battalion chief they were taking a sick day, and they left the headquarters fire station on Mineral Spring Avenue.

Lombardi told The Breeze on Monday, Oct. 26, that the firefighters feigned illness when they were unhappy with their assignments. Lombardi said they had expected to be the 4th and 5th men on a heavy rescue truck; when they arrived they learned that they were split up, with one man assigned to the rescue truck and another to an engine in a different fire station. A third firefighter on their three-man ladder truck squad was assigned to a different engine company, but did not call in sick.

The resulting disciplinary hearing with lawyers in attendance and suspension beginning Oct. 31 is a view into the power struggle between Lombardi and the union.

"I'm going to prove they're blatant in taking advantage of the taxpayers and that's why the overtime is out of control," Lombardi said. "It's because of situations like this. We need to let them know there's going to be discipline."

To prove his point, the town will have to pay overtime to the firefighters who replace the two on suspension: at time-and-a-half, it is about $6,000 over the course of 10 days.

"Yes, it will cost a few more dollars, but in the long run, with this type of discipline, it will make for a better fire department and falls right in with the restructuring plan," Lombardi said Monday.

The union is backing the firefighters.

"I think he's just trying to set an example and control something that doesn't need anybody to control," said John Silva, president of the 106-member firefighters Local 2334 of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

According to Silva, the ladder truck was out-of-service for weeks-long repairs to its hydraulic system. As usual, the firefighters were reassigned while the truck was being repaired. When they arrived at 7:30 a.m. for an 8 a.m. shift, "they went through appropriate channels" to call in sick.

"They did nothing wrong," Silva said Monday.

Silva anticipated the union would grieve the suspensions, and pointed out that the town would pay thousands of dollars more in legal fees.

"I don't know why he's picking on us. He calls it reorganizing; we call it harassment," Silva said.

The mayor's actions over the "feigned" sick days is the latest in his attempt to assert his authority to operate the town's police and fire departments.

Earlier this month, Lombardi asked a Superior Court judge to determine whether the make-up of the Police Department, including the number of supervisors, is controlled by the mayor and Town Council or by the contract between the town and the Fraternal Order of Police. The Town Charter appears to give that power to the town, and the contract appears to give that right to the union, according to Lombardi.

The court has yet to give a response to Lombardi's Oct. 6 lawsuit. If the court sides with the town and its charter, then the decision would likely apply to the Fire Department as well.

Lombardi said the town spent $1 million on Fire Department overtime last year. He opposes the minimum staffing clause in the contract between the union and the town. If the clause were eliminated, the town would save $700,000 annually on overtime, Lombardi has said.