FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

City of Patterson Responds to Patterson Professional Firefighters’ Association, IAFF 4577’s Vote of No Confidence

PATTERSON, CA - March 19, 2025 – Last night, City officials were made aware of the public release of the recent vote of no confidence in Fire Chief Frye issued by the Patterson Professional Firefighters’ Association, IAFF 4577 (“Union”). While the Union and its membership are entitled to their opinions, the Union’s allegations concerning the state of affairs within the City and the City’s approach to labor relations is patently false. 

After several months of working through various concerns raised by the Union, City management concluded that the complaints lacked merit. Despite this finding, the City Manager has hired a neutral third-party agency to perform an assessment of the Union’s concerns and hopefully bridge the divide in communications between the Union and management. 

“Since this matter was first brought to my attention, the City has allocated resources and staff time to address the Union’s concerns. Any allegation that we have done anything less than that is entirely untrue,” said Mayor Michael Clauzel.  The assessment is intended to evaluate management practices and mediate the dispute; however, Fire Chief Frye is not under any investigation for wrongdoing. City management has worked to move the assessment process forward and has collaborated with the Union to ensure an expeditious resolution of their concerns. 

“The Union’s decision to publicly air their internal displeasure with the City’s actions to address their grievances is unfortunate and ill-timed considering we are moving forward with the assessment next week,” stated City Manager Fernando Ulloa. “The City’s quick response in meeting with Union leadership on numerous occasions is a testament to the City’s respect for the critical role our firefighters play in safeguarding our community. We look forward to an independent evaluation of the City’s management of the fire department and to the extent permitted by law, we will share the outcome with the public as part of our commitment to administering City business in a transparent manner,” added Ulloa.

For any further media inquiries, please contact Victoria Castro at vcastro@pattersonca.gov or 209-876-2683. 

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