Firefighter union v. City of Mobile lawsuit pushed to bench trial
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — A lawsuit against the City of Mobile moved to a bench trial after a group of Mobile Fire-Rescue firefighters accused the city of a disproportionate pay gap between themselves and Mobile Police officers.
The International Association of Firefighters, a union representing Mobile Fire Rescue, filed a lawsuit in June 2022. The union said the city broke state law that requires firefighters and police officers to be on the same pay plan.
“There’s a parity clause in there that states that you pay the firemen the same that you pay the policemen,” Jimmy Connick, a Mobile Fire Rescue captain, said.
That same law, according to the city, allows the Mobile County Personnel Board to approve employee incentives based on specific skills.
The Mobile Police Department’s website listed an officer’s starting salary at $43,644 per year, while the Mobile County Personnel Board quoted an MFRD starting salary of the same amount.
Unlike the fire department, MPD’s website showed that rookie officers make an extra $5,200 in incentives “upon completion and graduation from the police academy.”
That incentive, according to Public Safety Director Robert Lasky, was an effort to boost retention and recruiting numbers within the police department. Lasky said the personnel board approved the incentive.
“If you look at the numbers, I believe it helped,” Lasky said. “The attrition rate for the fire department has been less than the police department as of two years ago. That’s one of the reasons this incentive was provided.”
Connick said the fire department and police department have enjoyed equal pay for 80 years, until now.
“Just in the past two years has this struggle become real,” Connick said.
Connick said Mobile Fire Rescue ranks among the top nine fire departments in the United States, which is even more reason to offer more incentives to firefighters.
“We’re always receptive of any type of offer from the city,” Connick said. “We’ll be happy when this is over.”
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The bench trial is scheduled for June 11.
In the meantime, Lasky said the city will continue to look for ways to even the playing field between the fire department and police department.
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