OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) – A court victory for Ogdensburg firefighters will be appealed to the state’s highest court.
Three weeks ago, an Appellate Division court unanimously ruled the city and firefighters union must go to arbitration.
The issue is how many firefighters are assigned to each shift.
The union says its contract requires five on each shift to ensure safety.
The city argued the contract doesn’t mention safety and, in fact, it’s purely a staffing issue over which it should have control.
“The contract doesn’t say ‘safety’ one time in there. It is straight up a job security clause. We believe that and we’re going to ask the court of appeals to look at that and provide us the relief that we seek,” said Stephen Jellie, Ogdensburg city manager.
“The 5-0 decision said what we’ve been saying all along: that this is a safety component and that five men on duty is what we’re going to chase after to make sure our members remain safe and the public remains safe,” said Jason Bouchard, Ogdensburg Professional Firefighters Local 1799 president.
This issue was first won by the city in court. Then that decision was reversed in favor of the firefighters.
Now the city is appealing that ruling.
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