Denver's firefighters union has taken its nearly two-year breakup with its state parent organization to court, asking a judge to wipe out a $388,936.93 bill for back dues and formally declare its split valid. Denver Fire Fighters Local 858 filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court against both the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters, arguing it owes nothing because it stopped using the state group's services roughly two years ago.
The case, filed as Case No. 2026CV32893, was lodged on August 10, according to The Fairness Center, the public-interest law firm representing the local union. Local 858 is Colorado's largest local firefighters union, representing nearly 1,500 Denver firefighters and EMS personnel along with crews in Englewood, Glendale, Sheridan and Skyline, according to Denver7. That count includes roughly 350 retired members.
A 78-Year Relationship Unravels
Local 858 had been affiliated with the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters since the local was founded in 1946 and was a founding member of the statewide union, ending a 78-year relationship when leaders voted to halt dues in 2024, the station reports. Local 858's executive board voted 7-2 in November 2024 to disaffiliate and permanently stop paying CPFF dues, following an earlier vote that same month to suspend payments for 90 days.
Local 858 president Chris Ferguson said the union does not owe the money because it did not use CPFF services for two years, and that Local 858 replicated every program the state organization provided. Secretary/treasurer Devin Hallock said the state union's services are better suited for smaller local unions, and that Local 858 no longer needed CPFF's help with lobbying, hardship assistance, or other programs. The local says it developed its own hardship assistance, scholarship, mental health, and workplace safety programs after breaking away, and Hallock said Local 858 provided better service at lower cost than the state group.
Votes, Then More Votes
Local 858 held a series of votes beginning in November 2024, according to the station's report. A formal membership referendum in March 2025, held after 31 days' written notice, drew 59% support for disaffiliating from CPFF; a subsequent vote in March 2026 reached 70.6% in favor of forfeiting the local's charter with the state union. Ferguson said he followed the democratic process and allowed every member to vote more than once.
Before it suspended payments in September 2024, Local 858 paid CPFF monthly dues of $20,747.72, or nearly $250,000 a year, for representative services. CPFF's bill, sent in May 2026, seeks $388,936.93 covering 20 months of alleged back dues retroactive to September 2024 — the same period during which Local 858 says it had already voted to suspend payments and disaffiliate. Hallock said the six-figure bill could threaten Local 858 member programs.
Website Lockouts And Misconduct Charges
The dispute has grown personal as well as financial. Hallock said Local 858 members lost access to CPFF website information, including bylaws and resolutions, after the state union locked them out in November 2024; the same month, CPFF removed two Local 858 executive board members. The IAFF has said charges of misconduct against several Local 858 executive board members remain pending within its internal processes, and it accused Local 858 of bypassing the union's constitution and bylaws, contending the local did not follow the constitutional and bylaw rules governing disaffiliation. The IAFF has also said an anti-union law firm supporting Local 858 is largely funded by the Koch Foundation, though it did not name the firm in that statement.
The legal fight turns on Article XIV, Section 11 of the IAFF Constitution and Bylaws. The IAFF says that provision blocks disaffiliation, but Local 858's complaint counters that the section applies only to voluntary forfeiture of the charter
and sets no procedure governing a local union's departure, according to the complaint filed with The Fairness Center. Local 858 contends that without an explicit disaffiliation rule, local unions are free to leave by majority vote.
A Precedent From Connecticut
Local 858's legal team points to a 2016 case as a guide for how this might play out. New Haven Fire Fighters Local 825 in Connecticut voted to leave its statewide union over representation concerns and won a legal ruling confirming its independence without paying back dues, as reported by Westword. That New Haven union was also represented by The Fairness Center.
Local 858 is represented by managing attorney Anthony Holtzman of The Fairness Center, alongside Colorado co-counsel Andrew Nussbaum of First & Fourteenth PLLC in Colorado Springs. Holtzman said Local 858 followed the correct steps to break away from the state union. Both organizations remain headquartered in the Denver area, with Local 858 based at 775 Mariposa Street and CPFF at 12 Lakeside Lane.
No Impact On Emergency Response, Officials Say
Despite the courtroom clash, both sides agree the dispute will not disrupt daily operations. Hallock said the fight will not affect public safety in the city and county of Denver, and Ferguson separately said the dispute will not affect public safety. Denver Fire Fighters Local 858 continues to serve the people of Denver as the case moves through Denver District Court, where a judge will ultimately decide whether Article XIV, Section 11 governs local disaffiliation or only charter forfeitures — a question with implications for firefighter unions well beyond Colorado.
