Governments and the Cost of Discord : Jury’s Award to Westminster Firefighters Shows a Need to Cooperate With Unions

The long-running controversy in Westminster over the firing and disciplining of employees is a dramatic illustration of the extent to which relations can deteriorate between a city and municipal unions. It is also a reminder of the need for hard-pressed cities and their employees to make more of an effort to work together as government comes under increasing pressure to perform better with reduced financial resources.

Recently, a federal jury in Los Angeles awarded a staggering amount of money to a group of firefighters as compensation for civil rights violations. Not only were the employees awarded a substantial amount of compensatory damages to be paid out of city coffers, but the jury ordered Mayor Charles V. Smith and several other officials to pay $570,000 out of their own pockets as punishment for their role in the actions against employees.

The city plans an appeal, but clearly the unusual award will prompt alert governments to rethink rancorous relationships with unions. The awards come at a time when cities increasingly are under budgetary constraints, and when government entities are under scrutiny for their compensation of employees.

Ironically, this enormous jury-awarded compensation began with a battle over reducing city expenditures on employees. The city launched an investigation into whether firefighters were falsifying time cards and putting in for overtime not worked. The mistrust escalated, with union members charging that the city was putting the lives of citizens at risk. Eventually, four city council members survived a recall in a special election. But those who thought the dispute would end there were wrong. It eventually led to the civil rights case.

While the city considers the matter of who must pay the punitive damages for the officials, there were broader lessons for it and other municipalities. Cities can ill afford to have deteriorating relationships between management and labor, and can save themselves a great deal of aggravation, threat to public safety, and financial resources drained off in litigation if they can work constructively to reduce costs.

The lawyer who defended the city in the lawsuit said that the jury verdict was an indication of “a general population which distrusts government.” Whatever the merits of each party’s case, that conclusion ought to prompt municipal managers and employee union leaders to decide to work creatively to resolve their financial differences.