Judge denies motion in firefighters uniform issue
Lawyer for Edison hopes for quick resolution
BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer
Astate Superior Court judge denied a motion by Edison Township to reconsider a previous contempt of court finding against the town for failing to provide uniforms to its firefighters.

A year ago, the township and its firefighters union entered into an agreement via an arbitrator with the hope of resolving the issue. In February of this year, the township was found in contempt of court for failing to follow a court order that was supposed to alleviate the situation.

"To me, this is much ado about nothing," said Mark Ruderman, labor attorney for Edison Township. "We had everything all set up to get the uniforms to the firefighters, but then the vendor went bankrupt."

Beyond that development, he also stated that the firefighters had until June 30 of last year to get properly sized so that the township could provide with them with uniforms.

"That also was a problem, because a lot of [firefighters] didn't get it done," Ruderman said.

Ruderman believes that the timing of these events is not just a coincidence.

"Unfortunately, this is merely a political effort by [Edison Firefighters Association President] Bob Yackel and his crew of friends to make the town look bad. He's not succeeding one bit."

Yackel said the only timing issue involved is related to how long the process has taken.

"This is the height of management incompetence or arrogance," Yackel said. "Why has it taken a year to provide firefighters with essential safety gear that is spelled out in the contract?"

Yackel previously stated that the cost of the uniforms is approximately $175 apiece and has been appropriated by the council.

"I want to know why this is so hard when the money is there. It's available," Yackel had said.

Ruderman said that things could be resolved if only he had one simple thing in hand: "a list of people and their sizes."

"This whole thing is absolutely not an appropriate use of judicial time," Ruderman said. "Hopefully, the union will cooperate and we can get this done."