Ohio Township Heads to Mediation in Exercise Flap

Sept. 26--Sylvania Township officials and its firefighters union are scheduled to meet with a mediator next week to resolve a dispute over the amount of exercise among firefighters.

Township administrators plan to meet with the fire department union officials on Wednesday to resolve a grievance filed in June by the International Association of Firefighters Local 2243, which represents the township firefighters. The grievance was filed over the township's plan to enforce its physical fitness policy by penalizing firefighters who don't participate as desired in physical training.

The township fire department provides serves Sylvania and the township. It has 57 firefighters and paramedics.

Susan Wood, township assistant administrator, said, Kevin Moyer with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service will meet with both parties to try to reach a resolution to the dispute. Ms. Wood said that both parties have not met to discuss the issue since early July. If the dispute is not resolved through mediation, it could go to an arbitrator who would decide the matter. At that point the parties would either agree to accept or reject it.

The current union contract specifies participation in the wellness program as a "goal of one hour of time per shift (24 hours)" and that participation in physical training is as the "day will allow."

The grievance states that the township violated the contract by implementing a participation rate for that fitness work.

The township has not enforced the policy since June, but Ms. Wood said she will review the last three months of the firefighter workout logs next month to determine whether any discipline is warranted.

The township administration and its firefighters union talked for more than year about a physical fitness policy, but when no agreement was reached and some department employees had low participation in exercising, the township imposed a policy that requires each firefighter to participate in a fitness regimen for one hour on at least eight of every 10 working days.

Ms. Wood said the administration warned Lt. Chris Nye, president of the firefighters union, in May that, if participation did not increase, discipline would begin.

The disciplinary process begins with a verbal warning, but can escalate to a suspension without pay or even termination. So far, no firefighters have been disciplined.

The fitness of firefighters is a concern, township officials said, because each year more than 100 firefighters in the United States die in the line of duty, and about half of those are caused by heart attack or stroke. The U.S. Fire Administration estimates that more than 700,000 firefighters work for departments with no program to maintain basic health.

The fire department has added $66,000 worth of fitness equipment at its stations since 2005, mostly paid for with a federal grant.

The department also has a wellness program, which includes three peer fitness trainers who can help employees with a training regimen. It paid $2,000 apiece for the employees to receive that certification, Ms. Wood said.

Contact Natalie Trusso Cafarello at: 419-206-0356, or ntrusso@theblade.com, or on Twitter @natalietrusso.

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