Ex-fire union leader gets biblical in fight over reassignment
The former head of Atlanta’s firefighter union says the mistreatment he suffered from his bosses after advocating for better working conditions was biblical in proportion.
Fire Capt. Nate Bailey said in a lawsuit that he was sent to “front-line duty” as punishment for his union activism, likening his treatment to the Old Testament parable in which King David sends a soldier to die on the front lines of a war.
Bailey, the former head of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 134, is suing the city, Mayor Andre Dickens and Fire Chief Rod Smith, saying he injured his neck in the more physically demanding new role and now makes less money because he isn’t eligible to work as much overtime.
He likens his plight to that of Uriah the Hittite in the ancient text about King David’s greed and cruelty.
“The reassignment resulted in Uriah’s death, just as the King knew it would, thereby allowing the King to take Uriah’s wife,” Bailey’s lawsuit says. “In this matter, Mayor Dickens and Fire Chief Smith ordered (fire department) Captain Nathan Bailey’s reassignment to front-line duty with the ulterior motive to retaliate against him and silence him in response to his union activism and criticism of” the department.
Bailey, who is still president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Georgia, repeatedly found himself at odds with the administration over working conditions, shuttered stations, a lack of equipment and firefighter pay.
Bailey said it started in September 2024, when he went to City Hall and complained to council members about the results of a city-commissioned pay study for Atlanta’s firefighters.
That study omitted the salaries of firefighters in several major cities, skewing the results, he argued. Four hours later, Bailey said he was reassigned to Atlanta Fire Rescue’s equivalent of “the front lines.”
“Without any notice or explanation, Captain Bailey was reassigned to the most active and dangerous assignment within the (department) — Engine 6,” the lawsuit says. “Not only did the reassignment cost Captain Bailey increased commuter costs and reduced overtime opportunities; as with Uriah the Hittite, the exposure to greater danger cost Captain Bailey as well.”
Within six months on the new job, Bailey said he suffered a debilitating, permanent neck injury while riding on Engine 6 “that will forever affect his health.”
Engine 6 has some of the highest call volumes in the department and is widely regarded as a much tougher assignment than his previous role of emergency medical services supervisor, he said.
Bailey, who lives in Canton, said the reassignment added 9 miles to his work commute. Additionally he contends he made $4,500 less last year than he did in his prior role because of a lack of overtime opportunities.
In reassigning both Bailey and another captain who served as secretary-treasurer of the local union, Bailey said the mayor and chief “sought to chill and dissuade” other Atlanta firefighters from associating with him or the union.
Neither Bailey nor his attorneys commented on the lawsuit. City officials also refrained from weighing in Wednesday, saying it would be inappropriate to comment on pending litigation.
Bailey is seeking damages for lost wages, future earnings and attorneys’ fees. He is also looking to be reinstated to his previous role and requesting an injunction aimed at preventing “future retaliatory conduct” within the fire department.
Bailey did not seek reelection in the spring when the local union redid its vote for president.
In May, Atlanta Fire Capt. Alvin Rashad was elected the new president with 83% of the vote. Reached by phone, Rashad said Wednesday that his predecessor’s lawsuit is a private matter between Bailey and the city and the union is staying out of it.