International Ass'n of Firefighters Local No. 23 v. City of East St. Louis

This is the second time that plaintiff, International Association of Firefighters Local No. 23 (Union), has had to sue the City of East St. Louis (City) to collect a promised allowance for firefighters’ clothes.

The first time, we held that the City was obligated to pay a clothing allowance for the years 1981 through 1985. We held this despite the City’s contention that the collective bargaining agreement between the parties was ambiguous in that it could be interpreted to mean either that the clothing allowance was to be incorporated into the firefighters’ base salary or that the clothing…