PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Kent County Superior Court in Warwick is expected Friday to take up several collective-bargaining motions filed by the Coventry Professional Fire Fighters Union, which represents firefighters in the Central Coventry Fire District.
The Coventry district is in receivership because its voters repeatedly rejected budgets that would let it continue operating. The district is facing liquidation, meaning the sale of assets, including its fire trucks, to pay creditors.
David Gorman, union president, said in a news release Wednesday that the union has asked the court to order the fire district to comply with the union contract. He said another motion would require the district to pay $700,000 in arrears in salaries withheld during the past 18 months.
Gorman said also that the union has filed a complaint with the state Labor Relations Board charging unfair labor practices. He said the union also has filed an open-meeting violation complaint with Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin, saying that the Central Coventry Fire District Board "abruptly adjourned to closed session after they refused to answer some tough questioning by the public." He said that action came during "a very heated meeting last week."
The district is under the supervision of Superior Court Judge Brian P. Stern and a court-appointed special master, Richard Land.