GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A private, non-profit ambulance service was charged by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with unfair labor practices following allegations that management suspended employees who led an effort to join th e International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 3249.
Lawyers for the ambulance service, Gloucester Township EMS Alliance, say the claims are not true, and that a complaint filed by the union president doesn’t tell the whole story, NJ.com reports.
Gloucester Township EMS was charged on March 26; the complaint filed sites a range of dates in September and October 2014 where EMS Chief Mark Kramer and President Ray Currey allegedly told employees that unionization efforts were under surveillance, promised benefits like a uniform allowance and winter jackets to dissuade employees from joining the union, prohibited talk about the union during work hours, and made threats of “reprisals” for those that supported unionizing.
IAFF 3249 President Keith Kemery said employee’s voted against joining the union, and blames the decision on Kramer and Currey’s actions.
Kemery said two employees, Mark Fedorich and Gregory Bumgardner, “actively supported” joining the union and were suspended after the vote. They, along with Kemery, filed charges of unfair labor practices with the NLRB. A hearing is scheduled for June 15.
Attorneys for Gloucester Township EMS say the ambulance service did nothing wrong, and that Fedorich and Bumgardner were suspended following complaints that they were harassing other employees.
“The organization has a no-tolerance harassment policy and in accordance with the police, they conducted an investigation and [Fedorich and Bumgardner] were suspended,” said attorney Lori Armstrong Haber. "[The GT EMS Alliance’s] position is that employees had a fair opportunity to vote, and they chose not to have the IAFF represent them, and the GT EMS honors and respects that choice and hopes at the end of the hearing that vote will be certified.”