The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 134 on Tuesday sued Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to force him to sign the union’s first-ever contract –– a deal the City Council unanimously approved nearly a year ago.
“We were hoping that it would not come to this,” said IAFF Local 134 President Nate Bailey at a March 17 virtual press conference announcing the lawsuit. “We’ve been trying to work with the mayor’s office to get a signature for months, even dropping off multiple copies.”
The suit, filed in Fulton County Superior Court, alleges breach of contract and violations of the Georgia Firefighters Mediation Act, the state law governing firefighters’ unions.
“The city’s breaches were in bad faith,” the lawsuit states, alleging that Dickens’ refusal to honor the contract amounts to an attempt to “weaken” and “erode” the union. “The city was stubbornly obstinate and duplicitous by failing to resolve the issue upon demand before this lawsuit was filed.”
The IAFF Local 134 is recognized by the city as the sole collective bargaining agent for Atlanta Fire Rescue’s over 1,000 employees. The union and the city negotiated a collective bargaining agreement, the union’s first ever contract, that established a framework for the firefighters’ union to communicate with the city, outlined a process for training, hiring and firing, and switched pay to firefighters from a four-week to a two-week cycle. Bailey called it a framework to build on.
“There’s no real budget items tied to this contract,” he said. “It was really a framework to build upon for the future.”
Bailey said the city had been honoring the agreement until October, and that the lawsuit would be dropped immediately if Dickens signed it.
The mayor’s office has not offered a clear explanation for the refusal. Dickens’ press secretary, Michael Smith, in a statement to Atlanta Civic Circle pointed to “questions surrounding the legitimacy of the recent elections, with calls from both members of Local 134 and national leadership to rerun it.”
“Ensuring a fair and democratic process must come first,” Smith said.
Bailey was reelected as union president in November. A redo of that vote, prompted by clerical issues, is scheduled for May. Bailey is running, but he and the national union leadership say the internal election has no bearing on the collective bargaining agreement.
“The contract wasn’t with me and Mayor Andre Dickens,” Bailey said. “It was with the city of Atlanta and all Atlanta firefighters. If the mayor resigned today and we all resigned, the contract is still valid.”
Firefighters feel betrayed
Bailey said the standoff has damaged morale across the department. After meeting with about 100 firefighters over the weekend, he said the prevailing feeling is betrayal.
“They don’t feel respected, valued, and there’s a lot of distrust,” he said.
The firefighters’ union endorsed Dickens in both his election and reelection campaigns and backed the controversial Public Safety Training Center, known as ‘Cop City’, as well as the mayor’s 2022 infrastructure bond referendum.
“We felt like we did everything that we could do to create that strong partnership,” Bailey said.
Council members react
Post 2 At-Large Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, who voted for the contract said, “I remain proud of that vote.”
Asked whether Dickens should sign it, Westmoreland said “council voted unanimously to authorize this contract.”
District 2 Councilmember Kelsea Bond, who earlier this week took to X to say it was “disgusting” that the contract remained unsigned, told Atlanta Civic Circle that “this is a historic opportunity to sign the firefighter’s union first contract [because] public sector workers in Georgia typically lack bargaining rights.”
“The city should take this seriously,” Bond said, adding that “at a time when the federal government is attacking unions in every way possible, Atlanta should be working with city unions instead of against them.”
District 11 Councilmember Wayne Martin, who sits on the council’s Public Safety Committee, in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon, said he is “baffled” by the situation, and wants a speedy resolution. Martin was endorsed by both the IAFF Local 134 and Dickens in his 2025 election.
“I want this resolved so that we can move forward with getting our firefighters what they need,” he said. “It’s uncharacteristic of [the mayor] to be contentious, particularly without reason. And so I really want to know where his head is right now on all of this, it’s really baffling to me,” Martin said.
The councilmember said that he spoke with Bailey and other union leaders on Tuesday, and hoped to speak to the mayor’s administration before the next Public Safety Committee meeting on March 23.
“It’s incredibly important to me that we get this done,” Martin said. “I want our firefighters to have peace of mind. I want them to know that the city supports them, and I believe our mayor supports them.”