Firefighters union head admits receiving two salaries

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This article was published 16/01/2018 (2291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For roughly 20 years, Winnipeg firefighters union president Alex Forrest has been drawing two paycheques for his work: one footed by the city’s taxpayers; the other — a top-up matching the partial wage of a city firefighter — from the labour organization he leads.

And the arrangement goes back well past 1997, according to Forrest, who says the city was picking up the tab for the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg president’s salary “for decades” prior to his election as its leader.

On Tuesday, Forrest justified collecting two paycheques, saying combining both salaries represents the value he brings to his firefighters and the city.

“That’s what a union president would normally get paid. That is the rate of a union leadership for a union of my size. With the combination of the two, I’m still probably the lowest-paid union president in the city. And I’m one of the lowest-paid union presidents of major fire departments in Canada,” Forrest told the Free Press.

Between 1997 and February 2014, the City of Winnipeg paid his salary, benefits and pension payments, while Forrest also collected an additional paycheque from his union for 34 per cent of the salary of a first-class firefighter.

“I’m still probably the lowest-paid union president in the city. And I’m one of the lowest-paid union presidents of major fire departments in Canada.”–Alex Forrest

Since a renegotiation in March 2014, the city has paid 60 per cent of his salary while the UFFW covers the rest. Forrest, who holds the rank of captain, continues to collect a paycheque from his union.

In a recent interview with the Free Press, Michael Jack, the city’s chief corporate services officer, said it was believed the city may have paid Forrest’s salary between 1997 and February 2014 without a written agreement.

That appears to be false, however, as a city spokesman said Tuesday paying Forrest’s salary was stipulated in Article 20 of the collective agreements in effect over that time. (It remains unclear why the city did not mention paying Forrest’s salary for 17 years had been agreed to in collective bargaining prior to Tuesday.)

A request for comment on Forrest’s claim the city paid the UFFW president’s salary for decades prior to his election was not responded to by civic officials.

If true, it remains unclear just how long Winnipeg taxpayers have been on the hook for a local labour leader’s salary.

Other major civic unions in Winnipeg reimburse taxpayers for their president’s salary at the end of each year.

“Prior to when I got elected, every UFFW president for decades before were paid 100 per cent by the city. When I was doing union work, as per the collective agreement, the union would pay the replacement for me, so that person would take my place in the fire hall that day. It was only in 2014, when that became untenable because of my workload. That’s what triggered the renegotiation,” Forrest said.

Forrest said between 1997 and 2014, the amount of shifts he worked on regular duty varied from half the shifts of a city firefighter to only one or two per year, depending on how much time he needed for union work.

Between 1997 and 2009, if Forrest took time off for union work, either the city or the union would pay to replace him with a stand-in firefighter, as per the collective agreement. However, between 2010 and 2014, the replacement firefighter was paid by the city, a City of Winnipeg spokesman said.

Since March 2014, Forrest has been on full-time leave.

A clause in six consecutive collective agreements indicating union-related leaves of absence for city employees will be without pay doesn’t apply to union executives, Forrest said Tuesday. Instead, Article 20 in the collective agreement dictates the city pays for the UFFW president’s salary.

“I make no apologies for negotiating agreements and doing it very well.”–Alex Forrest

“I make no apologies for negotiating agreements and doing it very well. The city has a legal department. They have an army of lawyers behind them. So when I go to the table, I’m not negotiating with people who do not have sufficient resources,” Forrest said.

“I am sorry that the city has not kept good records. I am sorry that the city has not been able to negotiate what they believe was appropriate. The statements put out by the city, I read these and I just shake my head… I can tell you their statements seem very misinformed,” he said.

“It blew me away when the city said, ‘We don’t know why we were paying Alex Forrest.’ They had to pay because it was in the agreement. This is not a napkin. This is the collective agreement.”

Whatever people may think of the arrangement, Forrest said, it was agreed to in collective bargaining and approved by Winnipeg city council.

A city spokesman had previously indicated the decision to pay 100 per cent of Forrest’s salary was made prior to 2014 by former Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service chief Jim Brennan.

When reached Tuesday, Brennan categorically denied he had anything to do with the decision. During his time as chief (November 2006 to September 2011), Brennan said there were no new agreements in relation to Forrest’s salary.

Brennan said he was unaware Forrest was also collecting a paycheque from the union.

When asked if Forrest collecting two paycheques was problematic, Brennan said it would be something for the union rank and file to decide.

“The only other thing that comes to mind is the fact that Alex (Forrest) more and more took on a national and international focus in his work. I don’t see why the city wouldn’t pay for someone engaged in activities benefiting the city. If he was in Toronto say, or overseas, however, I don’t think the city would have paid his salary for those occasions,” Brennan said.

When asked to elaborate, the former chief said he believes the union would have calculated the days Forrest spent doing work outside Winnipeg, then reimbursed the city for that at the end of the year.

However, the response to a freedom of information request indicates there’s no record the UFFW reimbursed the city for employees doing union work between 2009 and 2013.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe