Denver’s firefighters union is taking a national and state labor organization to court, fighting a $389,000 bill for dues it said it doesn’t owe after voting to break away from the statewide union nearly two years ago.
Local 858, Denver’s firefighters union, said it voted to split from the statewide Colorado Professional Fire Fighters (CPFF) union nearly two years ago, but was billed $388,936.93 by CPFF for unpaid dues in May 2026. Attorneys for Local 858 filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court this month, asking a judge to throw out the bill and declare its break from the state union valid.
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“I don’t believe that we owe that money. We didn’t use their services for two years,” Local 858 President Chris Ferguson said.
Local 858 represents nearly 1,500 Denver firefighters and EMS personnel, roughly 350 of whom are retired members. Devin Hallock, the union’s secretary/treasurer, said union leadership and members voted to leave CPFF after concerns about representation.
“They were coming to us with concerns of not getting represented accordingly for nearly a quarter million dollars that we’re paying the state organization every year for their representative services,” Hallock said…