Austin firefighters to be given raises after arbitrators outline new contract with city
A third-party arbitration panel outlined details of a new contract between the city and the union that represents Austin firefighters, which comes with a pay raise as firefighters have voiced concerns that their wages have not kept up with the city's cost of living.
The contract will run for the next two fiscal years and will include a base wage increase of 4% for each year, including 2023.
The pay increases for fiscal year 2023, which ends Sept. 30, and fiscal year 2024 will be added to the first payroll of fiscal year 2024, according to a release sent by the city. The contract will kick in immediately and does not require any authorization by the City Council or the union.
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City negotiators and members of the Austin Firefighters Association, the union that represents firefighters in the city, have been working on reaching a new contract for nearly a year and a half.
Both parties had hoped to achieve a deal through collective bargaining, but those hopes were dashed nearly a month ago when union President Bob Nicks said he would not recommend a contract to his members. He told the American-Statesman previously that he made the choice not because it was a bad deal, but because he didn't want to influence the union members' votes.
Pay increases were at the crux of contract negotiations between the city and firefighters. Although on paper Austin firefighters appear to have a good base salary, they lose nearly 19% of each check to their pension, which brings their wages down significantly and prompts many to work an excessive amount of overtime or other jobs, according to Nicks.
The city has claimed that Austin firefighters are some of the best-paid in the state, per a study comparing their wages to those of firefighters in other large Texas cities. However, the union countered with findings that show they are not even the best-paid in Travis County.
How did firefighters, city respond to the outcome?
Nicks told the Statesman that he thinks the arbitrators made the best decision they could given the circumstances, but that this contract does not do enough to fix morale issues among firefighters.
The city had promised in 2017 to keep firefighters' pay 5% above that of other Texas cities and to "strive" to keep their base pay near the cost of living in Austin, according to a presentation Nicks gave to the city's Public Safety Commission last month.
The new contract does not include those promises, Nicks said, and the firefighters lost purchasing power since their last contrast in 2017 as their wage increases were outpaced by their household spending.
"It does stop the (financial) bleeding but does not make us whole," he said. "In any other economic period, it would be a good contract, but firefighters lost more than 14% purchasing power in the last contract and still have not been able to regain that. And it has had a significant impact on the firefighters and our families."
Interim Assistant City Manager Bruce Mills said in a statement to the Statesman that the contract was reached via an arbitration panel at the association's request.
"Trying to now go back in time is not productive and we look forward to working with the Association to move forward with implementation of the awarded contract," Mills said.
What else is in the union contract?
In addition to the pay increases, the contract includes a one-time payment to firefighters and stipends for the department's wildfire battalion, arson division, dispatch divisions and assistant fire chiefs.
Under the contract, the Austin Fire Department will also stop random and post-accident drug testing of firefighters, in addition to eliminating punishment for firefighters who test positive for cannabis as long as they have a prescription and aren't under the influence on the job.
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Juneteenth will now be a paid holiday for firefighters, and they will see a reduction by one hour in their workweek, taking them from 53 to 52 hours each week.
Nicks said this reduction is a "shining light" and that the language also opens up the possibility for them to get further reductions. The union is hoping to move to a 50.4-hour workweek eventually.
Mills said in a news release sent Friday that the city is happy with the contract from the arbitration panel.
"We believe we have arrived at a good result for both the Austin Firefighters Association and the City," Mills said in the statement. "That said, and regardless of our belief that the arbitration panel delivered us a fair decision, going forward, our hope and continued goal is that we will be able to mutually achieve the next labor contract with the Firefighters Association through the collective bargaining process.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Arbitrators outline new contract terms with Austin firefighters, city
