Discipline For Complaining to Union Leads to Federal Suit

A Charleston firefighter who was transferred after he complained to his union about unsafe station conditions, has filed suit along with IAFF Local 61 alleging the discipline violated the First Amendment. Robert Tackett claims his complaints about bunk room temperatures at Station 9 exceeding 90 degrees, as well as concerns about mold, precipitated his transfer.

Tackett, an 11-year veteran and member of the hazardous materials team, was transferred after his captain at Station 9 was instructed to write him up. Quoting from the complaint:

• Prior to July 17, 2024, Tackett and other CFD employees submitted requests for investigation and remediation of these dangerous and deficient conditions to superiors in an effort to address these issues, and these requests were regularly and routinely ignored and/or met with indifference as CFD had no formalized system for making, logging, and tracking such complaints or making related repairs.
• Further CFD also had an official policy and/or custom of nonresponsiveness to said living condition complaints and further as to their ultimate repair and/or amelioration, such that the making of such complaints by fire fighters was often seen as futile.1
• On July 17, 2024, Tackett contacted Local 61 to report another dangerous and defective living condition — specifically, that firefighters working 24-hour shifts were unable to sleep or rest in the multiple bunk rooms in Station No. 9 as those bunk rooms were consistently hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit as measured by the station’s thermal imaging camera.
• Excessive heat was a matter of urgency as firefighters who were sleep deprived and/or affected by mold growth posed a risk to themselves and the public at large. By reporting this dangerous and defective living condition to Local 61, Tackett hoped that this issue of public safety would be promptly addressed.
• On July 23, 2024, Captain Jeremy Tipton informed Tackett that he was instructed to “write [Tackett] up.”
• Tackett asked Captain Tipton why he was being disciplined. Captain Tipton replied that he was told to “find something” in the Code of Conduct Policy because… Tackett made “bad judgments” by contacting Local 61 about Station No. 9’s high temperatures and related health and safety issues.
• On July 23, 2024, BC Morley and Battalion Chief Larry Hood (“BC Hood”) came to Station No. 9 to discuss the situation further with Tackett and Captain Tipton. BC Morley stated that Tackett “went around [the] chain of command” and “should have let the system play out instead of contacting the Union.”
• BC Hood recommended that the employee feedback report should only state that Captain Tipton spoke with Tackett about “going to the Union on shift.”
• Tackett reluctantly signed the feedback report that Captain Tipton signed off on, which details the reasons for the discipline.
• BC Perez informed Plaintiff Tackett that he would be transferred to Station No. 7 on the C shift so that Tackett and Captain Tipton could get a “fresh start.”
• BC Perez added that Captain Tipton could not serve as Tackett’s captain because of Tackett’s seniority.
• On or around July 26, 2024, Cockroft informed officers at Station No. 7 that Tackett was being transferred for being “continually out of uniform, disrespectful, and [because he] did not listen to my Captain.”
• Tackett’s new position at Station No. 7 is not eligible for overtime pay and/or does not provide the same or similar opportunities to earn overtime pay as he had typically earned at Station No. 9 before his transfer.
• Tackett’s feedback report detailing his discipline will also remain in his personnel file, affecting future chances of promotion

The complaint alleges violations of Tackett’s free speech and freedom of association rights pursuant to First and Fourteenth Amendments, and a prior restraint of Tackett’s and Local 61’s First Amendment free speech rights.

Here is a copy of the complaint: