MassCOP Amicus Brief Helps SJC hand Victory to Public Employee Unions

In a brief opinion, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the right of the joint labor management
committee (JLMC), the state agency that resolves bargaining disputes involving police or fire
unions, to issue an award including a type of shift, such as 24-hour shifts for firefighters. This
decision in Local 2071, Int’l Assn of Firefighters v. Town of Bellingham (Dec. 7, 2007) affirms
the well-established notion that public safety employers generally do not have a managerial
right to change shifts. Sandulli Grace, PC filed friend-of-the-court arguments on behalf of
Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, Inc. and the Massachusetts Coalition of Police,
AFL-CIO in support of the firefighter local.

In this case, an arbitration panel convened by the JLMC awarded 24-hour shifts as the
firefighters’ local requested. This award did not change the number of hours worked by
firefighters or the number of firefighters per shift. Nonetheless, the Town appealed, claiming
that the award infringed upon its inherent managerial rights. After losing at Superior Court,
the Town again appealed. The Town did the same after the Appeals Court eventually agreed
with the Union.

Although the case dealt exclusively with firefighter shifts, the stakes were significant. If the
SJC upheld the Town’s basis for appeal, then Fire and Police Chiefs could change standard
hours of work, including the “4&2,” whenever the Chief saw fit and without having to negotiate
changes with the Union.