Cahokia employee who says his firing was political gets his job back

An arbitrator ruled that one of the 10 village workers who was fired from his job after a new village administration took over should get his job back because he was terminated without just cause.

Montuelle Prater has returned to work as an operator in the Cahokia Water and Sewer Department, where he had worked since 2013. He was terminated after Mayor Curtis McCall Jr. was elected last April.

Meanwhile, Prater filed a federal lawsuit against the village, alleging his civil rights were violated when he was wrongfully terminated. He hired St. Louis attorney Sarah Swatosh to represent him in that case.

Prater could not be reached for comment. McCall has refused to comment. Repeated attempts to get comment from him or other village officials were unsuccessful.

Hearings for the other nine workers who claimed they were the victims of political firings have not yet occurred. All were fired after former Mayor Gary Cornwell lost to McCall in the municipal election.

Grievances filed by Prater and the nine others led to the arbitration. Prater was placed on administrative leave June 19 and the village board, of which McCall supporters have the majority vote, later terminated him.

The arbitrator, Mark Suardi, issued his ruling Feb. 26 in favor of Prater and ordered the village to return him to his job.

Suardi was appointed through the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to hear the matter. The arbitration hearing was at the offices of the village’s counsel in Columbia on Dec. 11, 2015. Both sides presented its case through sworn and transcribed testimony and exhibits.

Prater was hired by the village to work as a general laborer, or operator, in the Water and Sewer Department in August 2013. There was a dispute between the prior village administration and the current administration over whether Prater was actually hired as a part-time or full-time worker.

According to the arbitrator’s ruling, on April 28, 2015, in a vote of 5-1 by the board, Prater was appointed to a full-time position to serve as clerk at the Water and Sewer Department. This was while Cornwell was still in office. McCall took office on May 1.

Saurdi ruled that Prater was terminated without just cause.

“Prior to Mr. Prater’s termination, the village did not comply with the procedural prerequisites for discipline. At no time, prior to Mr. Prater’s termination, was he advised of any deficiencies in his work performance, including, but not limited to, irregular attendance or fraudulent time card entries,” Suardi wrote.

He said: “Whatever concerns Mayor McCall may have had concerning Mr. Prater’s attendance and time cards were insufficient to justify Mr. Prater’s termination. The village did not have just cause to terminate Mr. Prater.”

Political hirings and firings have long been the norm in towns like Cahokia, where village jobs often go to supporters of the candidates who are victorious at the polls.

After the April 7, 2015, municipal election when McCall became mayor, a bid sheet for two jobs was posted in the Water and Sewer Department. On April 28, 2015, the board, under which former Mayor Cornwell had majority support, voted 5-1 to make Prater a full-time clerk for the Water and Sewer Department. McCall did not take office until May 1.

McCall did a review of “existing staffing levels” and then recommended the termination of several employees, including Prater.

McCall, along with Village Attorney Mark C. Scoggins, contended that Prater was never properly hired and that the board had authority over employment decisions, contending that a mayoral appointment (Cornwell) with the advice and consent of the trustees was “wholly improper.”

The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 520-B), contended that the issue in the case was “just cause,” meaning that the village had to prove that Prater did something wrong to terminate him.

Further, the union contended that Cornwell’s last-minute appointment of Prater was not a political maneuver before he left office.

“Rather, it was based on the accumulation of previously unavailable funds,” the document said. Cornwell, with union support said Prater’s appointment was “well within his executive authority over day to day operations of the village.

Cornwell, reached by phone, said he could not talk because of pending litigation . He did say he is pleased with the ruling.

Swatosh said she is looking forward to the court date when she will defend Prater, alleging his civil rights were violated when he was wrongfully terminated by McCall. She said she couldn’t comment on the arbitrator’s case because she did not represent Prater for that. However, she said she agreed with Suardi’s ruling.

“I agree with the ruling. I believe he reached the right decision. Mr. Prater never should have been terminated,” Swatosh said.

In the federal lawsuit, which includes the other individuals who are currently awaiting arbitration hearings and rulings, Prater is suing board of trustee members Melba Sanders, Phyllis Pearson, Gloria Liddell Ware, Jeffery K. Radford and McCall, alleging that his public endorsement of a candidate for public office and political campaigning and management are protected by the first amendment, which forbids government officials from taking adverse actions against public employees solely for not being supporters of the political party in power. Prater supported Cornwell for re-election.

The suit says Prater spoke out at times on matters of public concern and all of the defendants “were aware” “and they individually and /or jointly engaged in actions omissions and decisions aimed at denying Prater’s rights and protections granted to him under the law.” Those actions by the defendants “were designed to cause, have caused and will continue to cause Prater to lose wages, compensation, entitlements and rights.”

Prater is alleging that the board and McCall “imposed unconstitutional restraints on his free speech and have “chilled and deterred Prater and others similarly situated from exercising their constitutional right of free speech.” Prater says in the suit that the defendants’ actions were done as a means of retaliation for his using his constitutional right of free speech to speak out on matters of public concern in a politically charged environment.

The case will be heard by Chief U.S. District Judge Michael J, Reagan in federal court in East St. Louis. No date has been set.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Cahokia employee who says his firing was political gets his job back."