Emmaus residents could pay 10 times more for firefighters' salaries if the latest court decision in a three-and-half-year legal battle proves to be the final word. The unique relationship between Emmaus and the borough's paid firefighters gives the latterthe ability to unionize under state law, a Commonwealth Court panel ruled Monday. Because the borough pays the firefighters an hourly wages and controls their work schedule, hiring and discipline, the firefighters are borough employees and eligible to unionize under Act 111, the state law that governs collective bargaining by police and firefighters, the court found.
The 4-3 decision upholds an order by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board in 2014 that authorized the borough's firefighters to form a union and negotiate contracts with the borough.