Edgerton Fire Fighters Settle Suit 

June 23, 2008 -- Following a five-year legal battle, three Edgerton fire fighters and Edgerton, WI Local 580 have settled a union discrimination lawsuit against the Edgerton Fire Protection District (EFPD).

Fire fighters Kenneth Crandall, Arnold Lund Jr. and Mark Backes were terminated in June of 2003 after joining Local 580 and demanding collective bargaining with the EFPD.
On the heels of EFPD’s termination decision, Local 580 brought suit under Wisconsin’s Municipal Employment Relations Act. The IAFF quickly took on the case under its Emergency Dispute Fund (EDF) policy, which provides IAFF members with legal representation.

The Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC), the state agency charged with enforcement of the Municipal Employment Relations Act, concluded the EFPD acted unlawfully when it refused to negotiate over wages, hours and conditions of employment for its fire fighters and, instead, unlawfully relied on anti-union hostility to terminate them.
The EFPD appealed the WERC’s decision to the Rock County Circuit Court, where the WERC decision was upheld. The EFPD then appealed to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals, which also sustained the WERC’s decision.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that there was “substantial evidence” to support the WERC’s conclusion that the decision to terminate the three fire fighters was motivated in part by EFPD’s “hostility to union activities.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court denied the EFPD’s petition for review.

Bringing the matter to a close, the three fire fighters and Local 580 have accepted a settlement of nearly $600,000 in back pay and attorneys fees.

“It took five years to bring justice to the Edgerton three, and we have righted a very serious wrong,” says IAFF 5th District Field Service Representative and Local 580 member Patrick Kilbane. “This is a significant win for these three fire fighters and the entire IAFF membership as it demonstrates what an effective union can do to enforce legal protections and secure justice for members.”