President of Tiverton's firefighters' union sues the town and fire chief. Here's why.

PROVIDENCE – The president of the Tiverton firefighters’ union is suing the fire chief and the town over their attempts to fire him.

Fire Captain David McGovern sued Fire Chief William S. Bailey III after he says he complained about the treatment of employees and members voted no confidence in the department's leadership.

“The actions of the defendants, Bailey and the Town of Tiverton, in punishing and terminating the plaintiff, David McGovern, from his employment as a fire captain with the Tiverton Fire Department are intentionally designed to prevent his free speech, in his capacity as the acting president of Local 1703, in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” McGovern argues through lawyer, Edward C. Roy Jr.

Town Administrator Christopher Cotta declined comment because the case involves a personnel matter.

Stepping back: Town, firefighters have locked horns in court before

It is the second time in a matter of months that the parties have battled in court.

The Tiverton town government in October rescinded a short-lived social media policy requiring firefighters to get the fire chief’s permission to publicly post any commentary related to their duties days after the union sued, accusing them of using the policy to discourage posts about matters of public concern, such as safety and staffing in the department.

'Catastrophically low morale'

The union has been critical of the chief, voting no confidence in him earlier month, and cited low salaries that they say are leading to high turnover and staffing shortages.

“Low pay and a high turnover rate create a substantial problem with recruiting new members and with the retention of the existing members of the Tiverton Fire Department. Low pay and a high turnover rate has resulted in catastrophically low morale among the membership of Local 1703,” the union said.

Going deeper: What led up to the lawsuit?

The lawsuit details the alleged assault in March 2023 of a union member by a senior member of the Local 1703 of the International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO.

The incident was reported to Bailey, but no disciplinary action was taken, it says.

Last month, the union filed a formal complaint about hostile working conditions referencing the alleged assault, state laws preventing violence in the workplace and Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations.

McGovern complained, too, to Bailey about the town’s failure to allow a union member to use a town-administered “sick leave bank” to cover time away for non-elective surgery. According to the union, the town is currently refusing to allow members to use money from the account, though it has more than $100,000 donated by members that should benefit current employees and retirees.

A female union member was denigrated by the chief’s girlfriend via Facebook messenger after she decided to take a position with another department, private information the union accused Bailey of sharing “with the intent to punish” the member for leaving, the suit said.

McGovern spoke to Bailey last month about the alleged incidents, including his girlfriend’s comments and the union’s plan to take a no-confidence vote in him. He suggested that Bailey should resign based on his girlfriend’s actions, the suit details.

On May 1, Town Administrator Cotta notified McGovern by letter that he was suspended for 30 days and that he intended to fire him from his post as captain for “conduct unbecoming as an officer and the allegations of criminal conduct alleged to have occurred” during his meeting with Bailey, the suit said. A hearing on his firing is to be held May 28.

Tiverton's Home Rule Charter empowers the administrator to remove any officer or employee appointed by him, provided the employee has been served with a written notice. The employee, however, is given an opportunity to be heard.

McGovern alleges that his discussions with Bailey were as acting president of the union and an exercise of protected speech, and that the town’s move to fire him was in retaliation in violation of the Rhode Island Whistleblowers' Act.

Union comments on staffing shortages

The lawsuit comes as the Fire Department is short 11 firefighters, according to a union Facebook post, and will soon be down by 15 firefighters.

"That will leave us with 17 firefighters to cover three stations over four shifts.  It will be close to impossible,” the union said.

Cotta said in an email Monday that the staffing shortage is due in large part to other communities’ ability to accept lateral transfers. Because their salaries are not as competitive as other like-sized communities, Tiverton is losing firefighters to other communities "as soon as we have trained them."

This staffing shortage prompted the closure of East Road Fire Station, one of three fire stations, late last week, Cotta said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Head of Tiverton fire union sues fire chief over planned firing