UCFD

Infighting persists in U. City
BY VALERIE SCHREMP HAHN vhahn@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8246 AND STEVE GIEGERICH sgiegerich@post-dispatch.com 314-725-6758
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 13, 2014

UNIVERSITY CITY • While a candidate elected by a narrow margin has been delayed by a court action from taking his seat, infighting is splitting the rest of the University City City Council.

Two council members are seeking legal help on whether the city manager violated ethics codes when they say he endorsed the reelection of two members in a city newsletter before the election. City officials disagree on whether at least five firefighters should have been suspended last month for endorsing a political candidate. And one City Council member hopeful who won an election by six votes still hasn’t been sworn in because of a temporary restraining order blocking him from taking office. That slot was held by outgoing member Byron Price, who was lauded by some members at Monday’s meeting for his past work on the council.

“Thanks for the support,” Price said. “This is my last meeting. Trust me, I won’t be hanging around.”

Council members Paulette Carr and Terry Crow are seeking independent legal help on whether City Manager Lehman Walker violated ethics codes when they said he endorsed the re-election of two members in a city newsletter before the April municipal election. Carr said she finds it particularly troubling given that Walker has called out a group of at least five University City firefighters for publicly supporting another candidate on the April ballot.

“I think it’s hypocritical if we give him a pass when he is penalizing the firefighters,” she said in an interview before the meeting. “It’s a powerful endorsement. Most people don’t pay attention to elections. But they might if the city manager speaks out.”

In the newsletter, issued before the election, Carr points out that an article by Walker praised the council for approving surplus budgets, mentioning Michael Glickert, Stephen Kraft and Mayor Shelley Welsch, who were running for re-election. There was no mention of members Carr and Terry Crow. “He used a public newsletter to do it,” Carr said. “That’s public funds. And it’s never been done before.”

Meanwhile, Rod Jennings, who was elected to sit on the council by six votes over Bwayne Smotherson, wonders why he hasn’t been sworn in to take office. He faces a restraining order filed by Smotherson and is awaiting a recount. “I am being irreparably harmed by the shorting of my term by these delays,” he said.

It was unclear when Jennings was to be sworn in, though members said he would be sitting on the council at the next meeting.

Some members are angry because they said they were not properly notified of a May 8 special meeting to approve the election results before the recount was started. Kraft said that by law a certified candidate may take office while a recount is being conducted. He said it’s up to the court to decide whether a recount is needed, and by Monday the city hadn’t received notice it was needed.

Meanwhile, Walker has been feuding with the city’s union firefighters, some of whom posed for council candidates’ campaign photos. All four union-backed candidates lost. State law prohibits first responders from engaging in campaigns while on duty or in uniform. The sides disagree on the definition of “uniform” and whether the workers were on duty.

Meanwhile, members proposed resolutions to disapprove the city manager’s action against the firefighters, investigate his actions in the city newsletter, and solidify qualifications for first responders. Members either voted to postpone action on those indefinitely or until the next meeting in two weeks.

One resolution proposed that the council supports a nonhostile work environment, and that people could not be retaliated against for being a whistleblower.

Price wondered why anyone would postpone action on it. “Either you believe in these values, or you don’t,” Price said.

But some members had issues with the wording. This is already the law, pointed out Kraft. Being a whistleblower isn’t constitutionally protected, said Glickert and Kraft.

The council delayed action.

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MFD

Maplewood firefighters specialize in rescues. If someone is down a hole or in a confined space Maplewood has the equipment and knowledge to get the victim out.

Firefighter, Matt Wilcox has taken that to the next level. He’s been accepted to the Missouri Task Force 1 team as a rescue specialist. He is currently in training for the team.

Maplewood firefighter, Matt Wilcox has been accepted to the Missouri Task Force 1 team.

Missouri Task Force 1 is a FEMA funded regional response urban search and rescue team of 186 firefighters, other rescue specialists, and medical providers from fire departments throughout Missouri. There are 28 teams nationally.

Wilcox, 30, said the primary job is to to help people, even if it’s just going door to door making sure people are OK. That’s what task force team members did at the recent flooding in Colorado.

“Obviously you’d like to be doing the breaking, the breaching, whatever, but if that’s what you’re called to do, that’s what you’re called to do,” Wilcox said.

Wilcox is married and has a 15-month-old daughter. His family is understanding and supportive according to Maplewood Fire Department Fire Chief Terry Merrell. “The time needed for training and the willingness to respond to a major incident with virtually no notice requires a total family commitment and sacrifice,” Merrell said.

Only the most qualified and dedicated are selected for Task Force 1, according to Merrell. He is the first Maplewood firefighter to be accepted.

Wilcox got an interview two years ago, but there were no openings at the time. He was told to keep applying and keep taking classes. He took swift water rescues, confined space rescues, boat operator and hazmat tech in the meantime. He was finally accepted.

“He constantly challenges himself to be better,” Merrell said. “Combine those attributes with a very high level of physical fitness and technical knowledge and you have the essential ingredients that define what is demanded by the task force.”

The team can be assigned to go anywhere there’s a disaster. Teams went to New York for 9-11. They were sent to Washington state for the mud slide in March. If Wilcox’s team is called he has four hours to get to the team meeting place near Columbia. They travel with two semi trucks full of everything they need for 14 days.

Wilcox grew up in Glendale across from the fire station. “We bugged the firemen, chased the firetruck,” he said. “Around 22 is when I started all the paramedic classes and the fire academy. I get to play all day, in my mind. It’s the best job in the world.”

He said being on the the task force team is no different than being on call in Maplewood. It’s a matter of being there to help, even if it’s not exciting.

“Would you want to be putting out fires all the time? Sure,” he said. “But if somebody calls you because their smoke detector’s not working, or they fell and need help getting off the floor, that’s what you’re here to do. You’re just there to help somebody.”

Fire chief of embattled Monarch district submits resignation : News

Fire chief of embattled Monarch district submits resignation : News

UCFD

University City firefighters suspended for political involvement 

Five University City firefighters were told Wednesday afternoon they were suspended for the next three months without pay for violating a statute that forbids first responders from being involved with political campaigns while in uniform or on duty. It's unclear if a sixth firefighter, who also posed in pictures with City Council candidates, will be suspended. City Manager Lehman Walker told the firefighters after the April 8 municipal elections that they were being investigated. Depending on what was found, he said disciplinary action ranged from verbal reprimand to dismissal. Though they can keep their jobs, the firefighters were angry about the suspensions. Walker informed them of the decision in short meetings Wednesday. "These are mothers and fathers who are going to have to try to figure out how to feed their families without a source of income," said Kurt Becker, an attorney representing Fire Fighters Local 2665.

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Monarch

Dear Chief Vineyard,

We are writing to personally advise you that the Monarch Firefighters, L2665 (Shop) is submitting this letter as a result of a vote of No Confidence in Assistant Chief Cary Spiegel and to request that he be removed from office. Despite his very recent appointment to this position, the Shop feels that no other option exists with regards to Assistant Chief Spiegel.

While Assistant Chief Spiegel has only been in his present position and rank since April 7, 2014, he has a long history with the Monarch Fire Protection District. Notably, he was promoted to the position of Chief Medical Officer of the District in 2000, at which point he had supervisory authority over all paramedics and EMT’s, and then to Deputy Chief in 2003, at which point he had supervisory authority over all Members of the Fire District. In the years subsequent to his promotion in 2000, a gradual decline in the working relationship between the Shop and the Administration resulted in a significant deterioration in morale, performance, direction, and, perhaps most notably, public opinion and confidence in the Fire District. While Assistant Chief Spiegel does not alone bear the burden of responsibility for these problems, he does bear significant culpability for the following reasons. 1) In 2007, four (4) females filed a lawsuit against the District, alleging that the District, by and through its commanding officers, including Mr. Spiegel, had discriminated against them during their employment with the District because they are female, and promoted and fostered a hostile work environment. The female fire fighters alleged specifically, among other things, that they were denied training opportunities which were given to their male counterparts, were not given equal time on the fire truck, and were retaliated against by the District once they made reports that they believed they were being treated differently than the male fire fighters. A St. Louis County jury found the District had in fact created a hostile work environment and discriminated against two (2) of the females and awarded them (Donna Kessler and Dana Buckley) $200,000.00 each to compensate them for the discrimination they had suffered at the hands of the District. The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the verdict on November 15, 2011, stating that Plaintiff Kessler and Buckley had presented evidence of a pattern of gender discrimination at trial and that the District had created a pervasive hostile work environment.

On November 19, 2011, the District’s Board majority voted to terminate Cary Spiegel, as a result of the findings of the jury and Missouri Court of Appeals. The Board’s vote was ratified on November 22, 2011, in an open board meeting. During the meeting, Director Robin Harris publicly denounced the favorable verdicts issued to Ms. Kessler and Ms. Buckley, stating that the verdicts they received were significantly less than what they asked the jury to award, and that the command staff, including Cary Spiegel, were not directly responsible for the discrimination and hostile work environment that Ms. Kessler and Ms. Buckley were subjected to at the District. Director Harris expressed during this meeting his disagreement with the Board’s decision to terminate Mr. Spiegel’s employment. Director Harris went on to state that Mr. Spiegel and the other command staff, at the time the initial complaints of gender discrimination were made by Ms. Kessler and Ms. Buckley, immediately rectified the situation. In response to Director Harris’ comments, then Chairman of the Board Director Kim Evans reminded him that the testimony at trial revealed that the District hired a firm to investigate Ms. Kessler and Ms. Buckley’s complaints in 2006, and that the investigative firm recommended that the District take certain actions in response to the female fire fighters complaints, but those recommendations were ignored by the District and its command staff, including Cary Spiegel, and the discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment continued. Director Harris could provide no response to Director Evans’ statement.

2)Following Spiegel’s termination in 2011, the Fire District undertook a voluntary DEA audit of its controlled substance inventory, documentation, and record keeping policies. During the course of the audit, the Fire District was threatened with loss of license due to inadequate documentation and poor record keep practices, which were the sole responsibility of Spiegel while employed. While the District’s license to dispense controlled substances was retained, it was only through the significant efforts of Deputy Chief Nick Harper, with the assistance of Mercy Hospital EMS liaisons. Had the problem gone unchecked, a significant decrease in service to the District residents would have resulted, for which Spiegel would have borne sole responsibility, due to his mismanagement of a position of less responsibility than that to which he has now been elevated.

Notably, as the Assistant Chief of the District, Cary Spiegel will have direct supervisory power over Ms. Kessler and Ms. Buckley, as well as all employees of the District. Further, Director Robin Harris, who has publicly decried the verdicts handed down in Ms. Kessler’s and Buckley’s case is now the Chairman of the District’s Board of Directors.

During the course of the litigation, many of the District’s employees, who are also members of the Local, gave favorable deposition testimony corroborating Ms. Kessler and Ms. Buckley’s complaints regarding being subjected to gender discrimination and a hostile work environment. Some of these same employees also appeared at trial to testify on behalf of Ms. Kessler and Ms. Buckley.

Notably, Donna Kessler and Dana Buckley are still employed with the District, as are the majority of the employees who testified on their behalf during the litigation and at trial.

The District’s current Board of Directors, with the exception of Director Steve Swyers, has been actively engaged in a campaign to discredit the Local and its members, since Director Jane Cunningham was elected to the Board in April of 2013. After Director Cunningham was elected to the Board, she publicly compared the Local to the “mafia” and a “corrupt cartel,” and stated, “We must kill this beast.” The Board’s recent decision to hire Cary Spiegel is yet another attempt by the Board to rattle the Local and discourage its members from remaining active in union activities.

As a result of the Board’s recent actions, several of the effected employees of the District, including those in leadership positions with the Local, who testified favorably on behalf of Donna Kessler and Dana Buckley, are preparing to file Charges of Discrimination with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, alleging the District’s hiring of Cary Spiegel is an act of retaliation against them, and demanding that the District rescind its decision.

While this is not an exhaustive list of all concerns regarding Assistant Chief Spiegel, they are the most pressing. Assistant Chief Spiegel will be charged with the supervision of all Monarch employees, as well as playing a role in the command of emergency incidents. The de facto nature of his relationship with many members of the Shop renders confidence in his ability to fairly supervise and safely command those members irreparably damaged. It is for these reasons, among others, that the Monarch Firefighters, L2665 declare an affirmative vote of No Confidence in Assistant Chief Cary Spiegel.

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