Medford firefighters union sues over back pay owed to members

There’s been a lot of tension in Medford, Massachusetts, for months between city hall and the fire department. 

One key issue–firefighters say they’re owed almost three years of back pay.

“Disappointed,” said Walter Buckley, president of the firefighter’s union. “I kind of feel like they’re holding us hostage.”

The pay issue may have been why there was a massive sick-out in February when almost all of the firefighters on a shift called out sick.

Now the union has filed a lawsuit.

The firefighters had been without a new contract since 2021. When a new deal was reached late last year, they were owed three years of back pay.

Buckley says that adds up to anywhere from $9,000 to $15,000 for each firefighter.

But there’s been no sign of the money.

“Right now the morale is at an all-time low,” said Buckley. "It’s easy to see why. We’re not respected by this administration.”

Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn says she would never hold back anyone’s pay but acknowledges it’s been slow.

“The retro is taking quite a bit of time,” said Lungo-Koehn. “It’s a manual process that goes through multiple systems and through multiple people, we do it until we get it accurate because this is taxpayer money.”

The mayor says it’s a challenging process with different calculations for each of the 102 firefighters.

She expects the retro pay to be added to the paychecks this month.

 “I wish they would be more patient,” said the mayor. “We explained this to them multiple times.”

The mayor and the union are also fighting over who will be appointed the next fire chief. 

Right now there’s no fire chief and the mayor has appointed herself head of the department.

The union says it may sue if they’re not happy with the final choice and if civil service rules are ignored.

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