An unfair labor practices complaint filed by Mount Prospect’s firefighters union against the village is slated to receive a hearing.
The union claims the village first approved and then, in its reaction to press coverage and a Facebook post by the union, denied the union a booth to use for fundraising at the village’s annual downtown block party in July.
The Illinois Labor Relations Board told both sides it will assign the case to an administrative law judge, who will set a hearing date.
The village has filed a response to the allegations, objecting to several claims.
Mount Prospect Firefighters International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4119 charges the village violated a section of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act.
The complaint states that a member of the union’s social committee, Tim Skalon, emailed the village about the possibility of the union obtaining a booth.
According to the complaint, Skalon told Mount Prospect Fire Chief John Dolan the union recently established a local chapter of a not-for-profit organization supporting children with critical illnesses. The union, Skalon said, wanted to use the booth to raise funds for the charity.
Dolan told union leaders the village approved the request July 8, but a week later texted Skalon to “stand down on the block party request,” according to the complaint.
The complaint also states Dolan told union leaders the village didn’t want to “set precedence” by allowing a union booth.
Union officials believe the change of heart only came after they had protested on Facebook and in a newspaper article about the relocation of a fire engine from one station to another the department had recently taken over from the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District.
In its response to the complaint, village officials argued permission had never been granted for the booth, and disputed accusations the denial was retaliation for their protests.