Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens ignored the Atlanta Fire Rescue union’s Friday deadline to sign the city’s first-ever contract with the union, despite the union’s threat of legal action. Atlanta City Council unanimously ratified the contract almost a year ago, in April 2025.
Instead, Dickens attacked the legitimacy of International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 134 President Nate Bailey in a lengthy statement to Atlanta Civic Circle.
The mayor alleged “irregularities” in Bailey’s re-election last November as president of the firefighters union and asserted that IAFF Local 134 will have to redo the election in May. “It would not be prudent to sign [the contract] right now with Nate Bailey’s leadership being called into question,” the mayor’s statement concluded.
“The mayor should sign the active contract and cease further breaches without delay,” said national IAFF spokesperson Tim Burn in a statement in response to the mayor’s attacks. “The collective bargaining agreement between the city of Atlanta and IAFF Local 134 was negotiated in good faith with the mayor’s office and, upon his request, was ratified by the Atlanta City Council.”
“Denying the agreement by pointing to internal union matters is a distraction. Those issues have no bearing on the agreement or the city’s legal obligations under the Georgia Firefighter’s Mediation Act,” the IAFF union said in the statement. “Using them as an excuse to nullify a contract the city lawfully negotiated and executed raises serious questions about Mayor Dickens’ commitment to honoring agreements reached with working people.
Bailey had demanded Dickens sign the union contract by March 13 – or face legal action for breach of contract and violations of state labor law – in a March 6 email to the mayor that the Local 134 president copied to Atlanta City Council.
Asked about Dickens’ failure to sign the firefighter union contract approved by the city council, Atlanta City Council President Marci Collier Overstreet said, “The mayor can speak for himself.”
Last year IAFF Local 134 endorsed Dickens for reelection as mayor, as well as Overstreet and several other council members — Byron Amos, Dustin Hillis, Thomas Worthy, and Jason Dozier. None of those council members responded to Atlanta Civic Circle’s request for comment on the mayor’s refusal to sign the union contract that the council ratified last April. Worthy said via text that he’d comment next week.
This is right in line with past administrations and Mayors when in regards to firefighters who make promises and do not keep them this is nothing but a stalling attempt if you were to hold a vote right now for union president Nate Bailey would win hands down, but there’s really no need for this, the Mayor need to do the right thing.
Don’t hold your breath. Bait and switch is the name of the game for this administration and Mayor Dickens is up to his usual antics, remember the PAD contract!?!?!?! And it is not surprising that Marci Collier-Overstreet is letting it be known that she has no intention of holding this administration accountable!!! All this writer will say is SSDD (Same…., Different Day)