Memphis Firefighters Sue City Over Slashed Pay Raises

Memphis Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 1784, has filed suit against the City of Memphis, claiming the city violated a binding agreement to provide firefighters with a 5% pay raise. The lawsuit, filed in Shelby County Chancery Court, accuses the city of reneging on its commitment after a months-long bargaining process and violating the city’s own impasse ordinance in the process.

The dispute centers on a pay raise that was negotiated and agreed to earlier this year. According to the union, the 5% raise was approved by both the Fire Director and the Mayor’s Office and included in the proposed budget for the fire department. Under Memphis’s impasse ordinance, when labor and management fail to reach full agreement, unresolved matters are sent to the City Council for final resolution. In this case, the Council voted to adopt the administration’s recommendation—effectively selecting the city’s 5% proposal over the union’s 7% request.

At that point, the union believed the matter was resolved. “Once the Council selects one of the two final offers, that decision is binding,” said Local 1784 President Thomas Malone in public statements. “That’s how the impasse ordinance is supposed to work.” But when the Council adopted the final budget in June, the 5% raise was quietly reduced to 3%. City officials cited budgetary shortfalls and declining revenues as the reason for the last-minute change.

To the union, the cut wasn’t just a disappointment—it was a breach of law and trust. “We had a deal,” Malone said. “We went through the impasse process. The Council selected their proposal. That should’ve been the end of it. You can’t change the terms after the fact just because it’s inconvenient.”

The lawsuit seeks to compel the city to honor the original 5% raise, alleging that the Council’s budget maneuver violated the impasse ordinance and undermined the integrity of the collective bargaining process.

The timing of the dispute comes at a precarious moment for the department. According to union leadership, more than 80 firefighters have left the Memphis Fire Department so far this year—and that number excludes retirements. Several paramedics, Malone noted, have taken jobs elsewhere, citing better pay and lighter workloads. “We’re losing people we can’t afford to lose,” he said. “They don’t feel valued, and now they don’t feel protected by the system.”

In public meetings, some members of the City Council acknowledged the shortfall but emphasized the fiscal constraints facing the city. Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton said the Council had done its best under difficult circumstances: “There was a zero to give you… but we worked and we prayed and we came up with a number.” Councilman Edmund Ford Sr. added, “We make hard decisions… That’s the job.”

A copy of the complaint is not available.