Everett must pay in union case

Herald staff

When the Everett firefighters’ union won an arbitration case in 1977, it asked the city to repay it for attorney fees.

The city balked.

Now, the state Supreme Court says the city has to pay.

Just how much will be determined later by a Snohomish County Superior Court judge, but the sum was approaching $30,000 before the appeals started, according to court documents.

The high court issued its 5-4 ruling Friday, upholding a state Court of Appeals decision that the International Association of Firefighters Local 46 is entitled to the money under state law.

Two justices wrote dissenting opinions.

The case attracted considerable attention in municipal circles, with a statewide organization of cities and numerous county and city governments joining the arguments.

"Generally in the past in our city, each side (of arbitration) paid their own attorney fees," said Everett city attorney Mark Soine. "The court apparently decided differently on this one."

In a decision written by Justice Bobbe Bridge, the majority found that state law allows an award of attorney fees to a labor union that obtains a favorable decision on behalf of its member employees in a grievance arbitration hearing.

The dispute arose in June when the city suspended two firefighters without pay for a 24-hour shift because they allegedly tampered with and damaged the electrical system at the fire station where they were assigned.

Local 46 brought the grievance against the city and won a ruling that the suspension violated the collective bargaining agreement. During the two-day hearing, the union was represented by an attorney, and the local later went back to the city to obtain payment for the legal representation.

When the city balked, the question went to Superior Court, where Judge Richard Thorpe ruled in favor of the city. The union then won at the Court of Appeals level, and in Friday’s decision the Supreme Court narrowly upheld the union.