JackFrost
Banned
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2012
- Messages
- 3,471
- Reaction score
- 513
- Location
- El Monte, California
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Libertarian
A Miami-Dade firefighter demoted last year for ranting on Facebook about the Trayvon Martin case should get his captain’s rank back, an arbitrator has ruled, rebuffing Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who had insisted on the punishment.
Brian Beckmann had been demoted two ranks, from captain to firefighter, after posting about Trayvon, the unarmed Miami Gardens teen who was shot and killed in an Orlando suburb in February 2012. In his post, Beckmann referred to “urban youths” as the products of “failed, sh--bag, ignorant, pathetic, welfare dependent excuses for parents.”
Beckmann filed a union grievance disputing the demotion. In a pair of hearings earlier this year, then-Fire Chief William “Shorty” Bryson testified that he had intended to suspend Beckmann for 14 days, but agreed to the more-serious demotion following Gimenez’s instructions.
Arbitrator Mark I. Lurie issued a binding ruling Tuesday that the county’s action constituted a breach of Miami-Dade’s contract with the firefighters union, which gives disciplinary authority to the fire chief, not the mayor. Gimenez had argued that, as a strong mayor who manages the county administration, employee discipline ultimately lies with him.
But Lurie disagreed, citing the “unambiguous” collective-bargaining agreement with the International Association of Firefighters Local 1403: “The Arbitrator deems it self evident that the [contract] directives — that the demotion decision must be made by a Department Director — refers to who must make the decision and not to who must sign the paperwork.”
Gimenez said in a statement Wednesday that he is “disappointed” by the ruling, which the county must now follow.
“Clearly, his finding highlights the need to amend county procedures to properly reflect the powers of a ‘strong mayor,’ ” he said. “That said, we must always hold our county employees to a higher standard, and given the offensive and inflammatory remarks made by Mr. Beckmann — a member of a diverse organization that serves an equally diverse community — a quick slap on the wrist just isn’t good enough. I stand by the original decision to demote him, a punishment that was far more befitting of the offense.”
Miami-Dade ordered to restore demoted firefighter’s rank - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com
A case of a mayor not reading the contract:lol:
Brian Beckmann had been demoted two ranks, from captain to firefighter, after posting about Trayvon, the unarmed Miami Gardens teen who was shot and killed in an Orlando suburb in February 2012. In his post, Beckmann referred to “urban youths” as the products of “failed, sh--bag, ignorant, pathetic, welfare dependent excuses for parents.”
Beckmann filed a union grievance disputing the demotion. In a pair of hearings earlier this year, then-Fire Chief William “Shorty” Bryson testified that he had intended to suspend Beckmann for 14 days, but agreed to the more-serious demotion following Gimenez’s instructions.
Arbitrator Mark I. Lurie issued a binding ruling Tuesday that the county’s action constituted a breach of Miami-Dade’s contract with the firefighters union, which gives disciplinary authority to the fire chief, not the mayor. Gimenez had argued that, as a strong mayor who manages the county administration, employee discipline ultimately lies with him.
But Lurie disagreed, citing the “unambiguous” collective-bargaining agreement with the International Association of Firefighters Local 1403: “The Arbitrator deems it self evident that the [contract] directives — that the demotion decision must be made by a Department Director — refers to who must make the decision and not to who must sign the paperwork.”
Gimenez said in a statement Wednesday that he is “disappointed” by the ruling, which the county must now follow.
“Clearly, his finding highlights the need to amend county procedures to properly reflect the powers of a ‘strong mayor,’ ” he said. “That said, we must always hold our county employees to a higher standard, and given the offensive and inflammatory remarks made by Mr. Beckmann — a member of a diverse organization that serves an equally diverse community — a quick slap on the wrist just isn’t good enough. I stand by the original decision to demote him, a punishment that was far more befitting of the offense.”
Miami-Dade ordered to restore demoted firefighter’s rank - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com
A case of a mayor not reading the contract:lol: