Local 776 member Michael Carricato, an officer for the Gettysburg Police Dept. had been improperly discharged in November 2017. Following the hearing, Local 776 filed a grievance. Here is where the odyssey begins with Gettysburg Borough throwing good money after bad money. Everyone is familiar with Dr. Seuss's nursery rhymes; the cat in the hat, green eggs and ham, etc. Read the following paragraph in the same rhyming way:

We will defeat you in the rain, we will defeat you on a plane, we will defeat you on a train, we could even defeat you in the state of Maine, surely you must at some point feel some sort of pain, for all the taxpayer funds you have wasted in vain, Care to explain?

Local 776 President Ed Thompson, who was present at the Carricato discharge hearing, explains:

“The Loudermill Hearing was held at the Gettysburg Borough Hall with Gettysburg Borough Manager Charles Gable, former Gettysburg Borough Mayor Ted Streeter, Officer Michael Carricato, and myself. “I told Gable immediately that they were conducting this hearing improperly and it was going to come back to haunt them,” said Thompson. “I have been through many of these hearings, and I knew they were conducting it improperly. I voiced my objections to assure my client’s rights were protected but also to attempt to protect the taxpayers in Gettysburg who will now be footing this bill”. During the hearing, former mayor Streeter told Carricato and Thompson the borough was following the advice of its labor attorney to terminate Carricato. After the hearing, Local 776 filed a grievance. The grievance was denied by the borough and scheduled for arbitration. The arbitrator sustained the grievance on May 9, 2019, stating that the borough did not have just cause to fire Carricato. The arbitrator ordered Carricato reinstated with respect to pay or benefits (minus interim earnings). The arbitrator concluded that because the borough did not provide a proper hearing for the officer to defend himself against any claims brought by the district attorney they denied Carricato his right to due process and failed to meet their minimal obligations.

 Here is where the odyssey continues, with the borough not accepting the arbitrator’s decision and filing appeal after appeal. Local 776 fought and defeated Gettysburg Borough in arbitration, The Court of Common Pleas (Adams County, Pennsylvania), The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. The odyssey lasted more than four years, as the Borough continued to throw more good money after bad money.

President Thompson said, “While we prevailed in this case and Brother Carricato was compensated for his financial loss, what the Borough did to him is appalling. The only winner, in this case, is the Attorney representing the Borough, who continued to bill the taxpayers of Gettysburg to provide bad legal advice to fight a losing battle. We will fight in any venue to protect our Members' contractual and federally guaranteed rights. Good Luck to Brother Carricato with his future endeavors.”

Local 776 Business Agent Mark P. Andreozzi presents a check to Brother Michael Carricatto in the amount of $120,000 for his losses during the odyssey journey.