Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport’s unionized police officers and firefighters delivered a unanimous vote of no confidence in airport leadership on Wednesday, citing a hostile work environment and unwillingness by CEO Iftikhar Ahmad to negotiate a new contract.
Union leaders also filed a grievance with the State Labor Relations Board demanding the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) maintain all 27 positions in T.F. Green’s police department. The two actions follow an unfair labor practice filed last fall over the firing of the local union’s president.
Airport workers organized under RI Council 94 for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have been working without a contract since last June. Union officials say airport officials want to privatize T.F. Green’s police force, which RIAC has denied.
“Despite our best efforts, RIAC has continued to act in bad faith,” Local 2873 President Steven Parent said in a statement Thursday.
Parent, who was a lieutenant in T.F. Green’s fire department, was fired by airport officials last October following claims he discouraged people from applying for jobs at the airport and benefited from overtime pay caused by ongoing vacancies.
Parent called his termination “illegal” — something Council 94 has backed with an unfair labor practice filed with the Rhode Island State Labor Relations Board last fall. Arbitration is expected to happen this summer, Council 94 President Michael McDonald told Rhode Island Current.
Parent blamed Ahmad for widespread turnover at the airport since his appointment as CEO in 2016, saying over 60 non-union employees have either been fired or left RIAC — including four different police chiefs and its most recent head of security.
“CEO Ahmad’s hostile churn and burn management must cease,” Parent said.
RIAC spokesperson Bill Fischer called the union’s vote “pure theater” meant to generate leverage as contract talks continue. He added that airport management has negotiated in good faith and that it’s up to the union to approve a deal.
“These PR stunts will not pressure RIAC to make poor decisions at the negotiating table,” Fischer said in an emailed statement. “RIAC management remains focused on its mission and will not be distracted nor impacted by baseless and untrue accusations.”
But McDonald said union leaders can only negotiate if they have trust in RIAC.
“We don’t want it to be this way — we’re looking for an improved relationship,” he said in an interview. “Unfortunately, none of the avenues we’ve explored to date have resulted in that.”
The union claims the police department is down 10 officers and has never had all 27 positions filled since 2018. Fischer said there are only six vacancies.
“We also have an additional 27 security officers — which will likely increase to nearly 40 security officers — for a total of 67 security and police positions,” Fischer said in an email to Rhode Island Current.
All security officers are contracted employees. Fischer declined to state who the vendor is.
An online search shows Illinois-based Andy Frain Services was accepting applications for security officers at T.F. Green as recently as Tuesday. New York-based ABM Security in May also sought to hire security guards at the Warwick airport — where its website lists having an office — for an annual salary ranging between $31,000 and $33,000.
No job postings for police officers were on RIAC’s employment opportunity portal. A now-closed posting still available on the website PoliceApp listed an entry-level annual salary range between $52,000 and $69,000.
T.F. Green’s fire department has 22 employees, with three vacancies, Fischer said.
Wednesday’s no-confidence vote is one of many bumps added to the rocky relationship between employees and management.
In early October, RIAC announced it had retained a law firm after learning airlines received anonymous letters claiming the airport had a toxic work environment — including one sent to airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration claiming the airport would be closed Aug. 13 due to an employee walkout. No walkout ever happened and airport operations continued as normal.
Roughly a dozen airport employees were warned last November not to destroy records related to the anonymous letters.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
