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Home > Leadership > Mayor > Archive Press Releases > 2007 Archives > June 2007 > City of Buffalo Discontinues "Blue Flu" Litigation

City of Buffalo Discontinues "Blue Flu" Litigation

Source/Contact
Office of the Mayor
Peter K. Cutler
Director of Communications
716-851-4841

Administration focused on contract negotiations with PBA

BUFFALO—Mayor Byron W. Brown today announced the City of Buffalo has discontinued its “blue flu” litigation against City police officers.  This action took place yesterday at a conference between representatives of the City, the PBA and Judge Paula Feroleto.

The City commenced this action on March 16, 2007 in anticipation of the March 17-18, 2007 weekend, during which the City was to host, among other things, the annual St. Patrick's Day parade and the NCAA men's basketball regional quarterfinals.  There had been publicly reported threats of a job action by City police officers during this weekend.  The identified purpose of the threatened job action was to protest the existence of the wage freeze. 

The City's pleadings indicated that it was necessary for the City to commence the action in order to comply with Civil Service Law Section 211, which mandates that the chief legal officer of a government apply for an injunction against any threatened job action by public employees.
 
Supreme Court Justice Paula Feroleto granted the City’s application for a temporary restraining order on March 16th; however, the Judge, on the basis that the weekend at issue had already passed, subsequently denied the City’s application for a preliminary injunction and there was insufficient evidence to suggest that there was a real threat of any further job action.  Still pending before the Judge was the City's application for a permanent injunction.
 
The City’s decision was based largely on the following key factors: the St. Patrick's / NCAA weekend had already passed, there was no further direct evidence of a contemplated job action, the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority had agreed to the lifting of the wage freeze and the City and the PBA have engaged in discussions regarding a potential contract settlement.