In Re the Arbitration Between Buffalo Professional Firefighters Ass'n, Inc., Local 282 & Masiello

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The Appellate Division order should be modified, without costs, by vacating the arbitration award in its entirety and, as so modified, affirmed.

Recognizing that stalled collective bargaining negotiations between municipalities and police or firefighters’ unions could jeopardize public safety, the Legislature created a system whereby impasses in such negotiations are first submitted to mediation and then, if they remain unresolved, proceed to compulsory public interest arbitration (see Civil Service Law § 209 [4]). There, an arbitration panel selected by the…