Summary

As Clearwater Firefighters prepared for a vote of "No Confidence" on Clearwater Fire Chief Jamie Geer, Clearwater City Manager William Horne and Geer sent out e-mails threatening to "Cleanse" certain CFFA members for utilizing their given rights as union members. Geer has been quoted as saying:

"I am through playing around and it is time for this to change....I will not stand by and allow my office and my team to be insulted. I will use every means at my disposal to finally find these firefighters accountable. We cannot advance to the next level until we cleanse our organization of the disgraceful and incompetent behavior of these representatives."

Verdict

A threat by a supervisor against a subordinate in retaliation for engaging in protected activity is an Unlawful Labor Practice. Therefore, the City of Clearwater was ordered to:

1. Cease and desist from threatening employees with adverse employment actions and lawsuits for engaging in protected concerted activity.

2. Cease and desist from interfering with, restraining, or coercing public employees in the excersise of any right to guaranteed to them.

3. Pay CFFA reasonable attorney fees and associated costs of litigation.

4. Immediately post notices recognizing the three previous items so all CFFA members are aware of the ruling.

ULP 1 and ULP 2 costs were combined, with a total cost to tax payers of $30,000. *

*These costs do not include additional fees billed to the city by their attorneys Thompson, Sizemore, and Gonzalez, which equated to an additional $46,382.91 for all 6 ULPs combined.

Click here to read the full ULP and Results