At the 2008 IAFF Convention in Las Vegas, New Britain Fire Chief Mark Carr and New Britain Mayor Tim Stewart brought up for censuring by Local 992.  The attending delegates voted unanimously to censure both Chief Carr and Mayor Stewart.

The resolutions read as follows:

Resolution No. 32
Re: Censure New Britain, Connecticut Mayor Timothy Stewart

WHEREAS, Mayor Timothy Stewart, the Mayor of New Britain, Connecticut, was a firefighter and member of Local 992 before becoming the Mayor; and
WHEREAS, Timothy Stewart has publicly opposed heart and hypertension benefits for firefighters; and
WHEREAS, the New Britain fire department, under Timothy Stewart’s administration, has transferred, skipped for promotion, disciplined, docked pay, and docked vacation time of union officers and continuously disregards the collective bargaining agreement. This has led to the local’s filing of over 50 grievances (only 4 in which the city has prevailed) and numerous prohibited labor practices, as well as the filing of 2 civil lawsuits; and
WHEREAS, Timothy Stewart disparaged firefighters and the fire department as a whole in a recorded phone call to the emergency dispatch center, and later explained that his use of profanity and threatening tone resulted from anger for being woken up by a citizen distressed by a city-wide flood; and
WHEREAS, under Timothy Stewart’s administration, members of Local 992 are no longer allowed to collect and raise funds for MDA while in uniform, on city property, on duty or with the use of city equipment; and
WHEREAS, the members of Local 992 held a vote of no confidence in their chief, due to the union’s concerns over safety issues created by the chief. The Mayor chose not to address the vote and called for no investigation; therefore be it
RESOLVED, To censure Mayor Timothy Stewart from New Britain Fire Fighters, Local 992 as well as from the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Resolution No. 33
Re: Censure of New Britain, Connecticut Fire Chief Mark Carr

WHEREAS, Mark Carr is the Chief of New Britain, Connecticut Fire Department, Local 992, a 160-person department, and he assumed this position in September of 2004; and
WHEREAS, in August of 2005, the New Britain Fire Fighters held a vote of no confidence in Mark Carr. The results were 110 in favor to 6 opposed with 3 abstentions. The vote of no confidence was predicated on the union’s concerns over safety issues that were arising and going unanswered, including radio deficiencies, right-to-know laws, and some operating SOPs; and
WHEREAS, Mark Carr has transferred, skipped for promotion, disciplined, docked pay, and docked vacation time of union officers. Moreover, he continuously disregards the collective bargaining agreement. This has led to the local’s filing of over 50 grievances (only 4 in which the city has prevailed) and numerous prohibited labor practices, as well as the filing of 2 civil lawsuits; and
WHEREAS, Mark Carr has supported the city’s position and has testified in binding arbitration proceedings on its behalf to cut manpower below NFPA 1710 standards, as well as to do away with minimum staffing clauses in the New Britain collective bargaining agreement; therefore be it
RESOLVED, To censure Mark Carr, Chief of New Britain Connecticut Fire Department.