IAFF Calls for Cleveland Fire Chief's Dismissal

CLEVELAND, OH—The International Association of Fire Fighters, the parent organization of Cleveland’s firefighter union, has voted to censure Cleveland Chief Angelo Calvillo.

The resolution of censure cites complaints about safety and equipment, disciplinary actions and policy changes and numerous grievances filed by the union.

A letter from the international union dated this week was sent to Calvillo notifying him of the vote, which was unanimous. The vote was taken at the international union’s convention in January.

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With the censure, fire personnel represented by Local 93, the Association of Cleveland Fire Fighters renewed their call for Calvillo’s firing.

“All we’re asking is that the administration hold the chief of the division to the same standard that our members are held to every day. No more, no less,” Francis Lally Jr., president of Local 93 and a fire lieutenant, said in a statement Thursday.

Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration did not have any immediate comment.

The union has filed numerous grievances and lawsuits against the chief and the city.

Fire personnel have complained about working conditions in fire stations and raised concerns about worker safety related to staffing and equipment.

The chief repeatedly has failed to follow the collective bargaining agreement, taking actions that resulted in more than 130 cited breaches of that agreement in 2020 alone, Local 93 said in its statement.

In 2019, the union took a no confidence vote. More than 600 of the 620 members who voted supported the no-confidence designation.

A lawsuit filed in 2019 seeking Calvillo’s dismissal for alleged violations of Cleveland’s civil service rules is pending in the Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals.

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