Youngstown Fire Chief Barry Finley

YOUNGSTOWN – While a ruling from a State Employment Relations Board judge isn’t final on an unfair labor practice allegation filed by the Youngstown firefighters union against the city, the fire chief apologized for the racial remarks he made that prompted the complaint.

In a text message sent late Wednesday after the SERB hearing, Chief Barry Finley wrote: “It was decided that I did create an unfair labor practice” when he met Sept. 6 with Jon Racco and Jordan Thomas, then the firefighters’ union president and vice president, respectively. Finley, who is black, made racial remarks to the two white union officials at the meeting.

Finley wrote in the text: “I would like to apologize to both captains for my actions at that meeting and ensure you that this sort of thing will never happen again. I’m also hoping that we as a department can set aside all the differences we have and focus on driving this department straight ahead. We actually have a lot of work to do but a short time to accomplish it. Again my apologies to both captains and all of YFD for my actions.”

Christopher Weaver, the current firefighters union president, declined Thursday to comment until SERB makes an official ruling.

Andy Resnick, the city’s spokesman, said: “We’re moving forward and continuing to work with all of YFD leadership to optimize the department so it can continue to best meet the public safety needs of residents of Youngstown.”

The union filed the unfair labor practice charge on Oct. 23 with SERB determining on April 17 that probable cause exists.

Raymond Geis, a SERB administrative law judge, conducted a Wednesday hearing at the board’s office in Columbus.

While several were subpoenaed to testify at the hearing — including Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, Law Director Lori Shells Simmons, Deputy Law Director Lou D’Apolito and Joseph Fritz, a senior assistant law director — only four actually testified.

That included Racco, Thomas, Weaver and a reporter from The Vindicator, who has extensively covered the issues between Finley and the firefighters union. The reporter was asked to confirm the accuracy of articles written about the two city investigations into Finley’s conduct.

With the city not disputing the remarks made by Finley, who was at the SERB office for the hearing, during the Sept. 6 meeting with Racco and Thomas in the city’s law department, Wednesday’s session ended quickly.

Post-hearing briefs are due Oct. 7 with a decision made after that.

In addition to determining the city committed an unfair labor practice in violation of state law by attempting to intimidate the firefighters union, Geis will have to decide if the city also committed an unfair labor practice by not bargaining on emergency management services training courses.

A May 8 probable cause report from Robert E. Fekete, SERB’s general counsel, accused the city of “interfering with, restraining and coercing the union when it attempted to intimidate the union; making false and derogatory statements about the union leadership, baselessly accused the union leaders of racism, and refusing to bargain with the union regarding the effects of the EMS training courses on the members’ terms and conditions of employment.”

The city has discontinued the EMS training courses.

After two investigations by the city’s law department, Brown decided Dec. 9 to “not take disciplinary action against Finley regarding this matter.”

The Sept. 6 meeting was to discuss EMS classes for firefighters, which escalated into an argument.

Using statements by Racco and Thomas, Fekete wrote Finley called the two “punk ass white boys,” and little white (expletive),” adding the chief sought to physically intimidate them.

In Finley’s statement to D’Apolito, who conducted the initial investigation that concluded Oct. 4, the chief admitted to loudly telling them, “I am so tired of you white boys constantly coming after me for no reason, and it just never stops.” When Thomas said he wasn’t racist, Finley said he responded “in a loud voice, ‘You know who always says that: a racist.”

There’s been a long line of disputes between the firefighters union and Finley since his February 2018 appointment. SERB has ruled three previous times in favor of the firefighters union regarding unfair labor practices.

The union objects to its members having to work additional hours to cover for those released from duty to attend the now-discontinued EMS training and that resulted, at times, in fire vehicles being taken out of service. That, they contend, violates the union’s contract with the city.

Shells Simmons told the union leaders on Oct. 16 she was going to conduct her own investigation into the Finley incident.

Her three-page report, finished Dec. 4 and released Dec. 9 to the media, recommended Finley not be disciplined and he “deserves some grace” because “until this moment, the disrespectful incidents the chief has experienced OVER THE YEARS have not been addressed.” The report listed only one incident from a few years prior. Brown agreed not to discipline Finley.

The union on Dec. 23 submitted a request for reconsideration with no response from city officials.