Manitowoc council president censured after saying he'd 'beat the hell out of' unionized firefighters seeking residency accommodations

Alisa M. Schafer, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
·4 min read
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MANITOWOC - Manitowoc Common Council censured council president Steve Czekala for comments he made during a recent Personnel Committee meeting to two city firefighters who had requested an extension on the residency requirement in their contracts.

"If you guys have any other union brothers that you're working with, this is a one-and-only time. The next person that comes here with a request like this, I'll beat the hell out of them," Czekala said at the end of the Feb. 6 Personnel Committee meeting.

Steve Czekala
Steve Czekala

The firefighters had both submitted a request for more time to find a residence closer to Manitowoc.

Firefighters for the city of Manitowoc are required to live within 25 miles of Manitowoc's city limits, but they typically have a year from the day their contract starts to find a suitable residence.

In letters to the city of Manitowoc, one firefighter said he was living 27.44 miles from the city's boundaries and the other said he was living 27.8 miles from the city's boundaries.

Both said they reside with their parents and mentioned wanting to continue saving money for mortgages on residences closer to Manitowoc.

At the Feb. 6 Personnel Committee meeting, Czekala said the two men had known about the deadline to find a suitable residence and they should have planned for it.

"I was very frustrated by the request," Czekala explained at a later meeting.

Manitowoc Professional Firefighters Association Union President Bradley Olivera said both Czekala and Eric Sitkiewitz, chairman for the Personnel Committee, attended a meeting with the union shortly after where they had a discussion about the statements Czekala made. He said Czekala did apologize to the union members present at the meeting.

Feb. 15, the union sent a letter to the council asking for a public apology from Czekala and for his removal from the Personnel Committee.

"As noted above, alderperson Czekala's threats violate the council's Code of Conduct, as well as both state and federal law," Olivera said in the letter. "Even apart from these (and perhaps other) violations, alderperson Czekala's threats have absolutely no place in civil discourse, and reveal a plain and overt prejudice against the union."

Olivera wrote that Czekala's statements were illegal threats of violence toward other union members.

Czekala later apologized both to the firefighters and the Manitowoc Firefighters Local 368, which is the firefighters' union. He also made a statement at the Feb. 20 Common Council meeting.

"I just wanted to send out one more apology to anyone who may have been offended by my comments," he said. "... I try very hard not to offend, so to anyone who was, my sincerest apologies."

The censureship resolution was approved unanimously at the Feb. 20 council meeting after being discussed at a previous Committee of the Whole meeting that same day.

In addition to being censured, Czekala was removed from his position on the Personnel Committee for the remainder of his current term, which ends in 2024.

"I think this is important for all of us to understand that our words and our actions do matter, because whether it is fair or not, we are held to that higher standard," council member Darian Kaderabek said. "... I think that while apologizing is wonderful, and I have the utmost respect for Alder Czekala, there does need to be a consequence. We have a Code of Conduct for a reason."

The city council's Code of Conduct dictates that council members refer to city staff respectfully during meetings and never publicly demean an employee.

Sitkiewitz said that with the exception of Czekala's recent statements, he still trusts Czekala's judgment for the city.

"I think he (Czekala) has a renewed appreciation for the role that he is in, and only time will tell that," Sitkiewitz said during the Committee of the Whole meeting. "I believe there is a lot of good in Steve and I believe he has a lot of good intentions for the city."

Sitkiewitz also said he did not agree that Czekala should be removed from the Personnel Committee, but would still support the censureship because of the importance of the council "speaking with one voice."

The last council member to be censured was Rhienna Gabriel in 2018. Gabriel, who represented District 10 for two years after she was elected in 2017, was accused of misconduct with a city employee following an incident during which she left an opened six-pack of beer, with only five cans left, and an unsigned note at the back door of the employee's residence.

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Contact reporter Alisa Schafer at aschafer@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @AlisaMSchafer.

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc council president censured after threatening firefighters