‘It should have been flagged’: mayor

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This article was published 16/01/2018 (2290 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Brian Bowman says the Winnipeg firefighters union president’s controversial salary deal should have been flagged for renegotiation during the last round of collective bargaining, but stopped short of saying he’d seek to get the city off the hook prior to when the two parties next sit down in 2021.

As a result, city taxpayers will foot the bill for roughly $70,000 of United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg leader Alex Forrest’s salary every year until the deal expires. That’s in addition to more than $1.4 million taxpayers paid in salary, plus benefits and pension payments from 1997 to 2017.

“The due diligence that’s occurring is exploring options. I think that review needs to continue. I’ve been very clear that I’d like it scrapped and I’d like it scrapped as soon as possible,” Bowman told reporters Wednesday.

“As of today, what I can tell you is the president of the UFFW has indicated he’d be open to having it negotiated in the next round of collective bargaining.”

Former city councillor Paula Havixbeck previously told the Free Press it was common knowledge on council in 2014 the city had historically paid 100 per cent of Forrest’s salary. Other major civic unions in Winnipeg reimburse taxpayers for their president’s salary at the end of each year.

In March 2014, in a deal approved by council, the city renegotiated the amount of Forrest’s salary covered by taxpayers to 60 per cent.

When the negotiations for the current collective agreement between the city and UFFW began in the summer of 2016, three members of Bowman’s executive policy committee had also been on the council that approved the 2014 renegotiation: Couns. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan), Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas) and Brian Mayes (St. Vital).

Browaty, however, was dismissed from the EPC in December 2016 before the deal was finalized.

In addition, Couns. Jenny Gerbasi, Russ Wyatt, John Orlikow, Ross Eadie and Devi Sharma, were also on council in March 2014.

According to Havixbeck, all of them would have known taxpayers were on the hook for 60 per cent of Forrest’s salary. Why the issue wasn’t flagged to city negotiators before the collective agreement was ratified in April 2017 remains unclear.

Heading into the 2014 municipal election, which was won by Bowman (who had previously held no elected office), the UFFW endorsed Mayes, Gerbasi, Eadie, Sharma, Browaty and Wyatt.

When it was pointed out councillors were allegedly aware of the deal, but did not raise it for renegotiation, Bowman said: “Of course it should have been flagged. It should have been flagged in a much more transparent way. It’s difficult for me to respond to their (city councillors’) actions or inactions… I’ll simply say we weren’t — I wasn’t aware of it till it was raised in this room a few weeks ago.”

On Wednesday, the city continued to point the finger at former Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service chief Jim Brennan as the potential originator of a verbal agreement with Forrest which resulted in the city paying 100 per cent of the labour leader’s salary, including benefits and pension payments, without reimbursement from the union.

However, for the second day in a row, Brennan categorically denied the allegations.

“The information being published, I don’t know where it’s coming from. I didn’t make any side deals. I didn’t make any verbal agreements with anyone during my time as chief. Even if I had, it still would have had to of gone through the human resources department. That’s not the kind of thing you can individually orchestrate,” Brennan said Wednesday.

“I do not know where the city is coming from on this issue, but I certainly stand by my statement that Forrest’s salary was organized under Article 20 of the collective bargaining agreement.”

The language set out in Article 20 seems to indicate Forrest would have been paid by the city while on a union leave of absence for work related to eight specific city-led committees. However, it does not appear to justify city payment of Forrest’s salary for union work unrelated to those committees.

That means payment of Forrest’s salary in full would only have been justified under Article 20 if all his time off was spent engaged with those committees. If not, it appears the union would have been expected to reimburse the city.

A response to a freedom of information request indicates the City of Winnipeg received no reimbursements from the UFFW from 2009 to 2013.

Bowman declined comment on the dispute between the city’s communications department and the former fire chief.

The mayor was then asked if he could assure taxpayers the city picking up the tab for a union leader’s salary was isolated to Forrest and the UFFW.

“We’ve been advised that this is the only such arrangement at the city. I would certainly direct you to Michael Jack (chief corporate services officer) and our chief negotiator to provide confirmation of that. That’s what we’ve been advised,” he said.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rk_thorpe