Raleigh leaders weigh in on salary increases after firefighters, police protest

Raleigh City Council members want to know how much it would cost to cover pay increases for all personnel in the city’s fire and police departments after the first-responders staged a protest Tuesday.

About 75 police and fire personnel were joined by family members outside the municipal building in downtown as they called on the Raleigh City Council and city manager to increase wages for employees.

The City Council is considering increasing salaries in the upcoming budget for new recruits for the police, fire and emergency communications departments to bring wages up to the Wake County median, plus 6%.

But protesters said the proposal would not address the retention issues facing the departments and leaves veteran employees without the same help. They’re seeking greater increases than the proposal to remain competitive with other departments and to retain the first-responders they have.

“The men and women in the Raleigh Fire Department and Raleigh Police Department and their families stand before you today because we have nowhere else to turn,” said Andrew Davis, president of the Raleigh Professional Fire Fighters Association.

The protest occurred just before the Raleigh City Council meeting. The City Council didn’t make any decisions on the pay requests, but Council member Patrick Buffkin asked the city manager to provide information on the costs of meeting the salary demands.

“I just want to get some numbers so we know what it costs,” Buffkin said. “I know nobody’s ready to commit to these things today without seeing the numbers. But I think it will add to our conversation and help us make a good decision.”

The budget proposal presented last week shows raises for 106 police, 133 fire and seven emergency communications employees. The pay proposal will be discussed once the draft budget is released in May.

Police, firefighters share concerns

Raleigh Fire Capt. William Janke, who has been a Raleigh firefighter for over 15 years, said staffing shortages mean they are not able to send in as many crews as they would like.

“We are committed to providing great service to the citizens of Raleigh, who we protect,” he said. “But that’s a double-edged sword. We want to be able to do better. And for that we do need people.”

There are times, including when they need to search fires for people, where two firefighters are required, he said. He knows other industries are affected by staffing shortages and pay that isn’t keeping up with inflation and cost-of-living expenses.

“But it’s gotten to a point where it’s a lot less safe to do our job the way we are trained to do it when we are understaffed,” he said.

Patrick Tierney came to work for the Raleigh Police Department from New York five years ago after hearing of the department’s positive work environment. But Tierney is part of a single-income household and said pay needs to be increased to work in the stressful job.

“I want to fight, not just for myself, but for the other officers,” he said. “... We try to handle it to the best of our abilities but we’re tired. We’re starting to get exhausted.”

A few police patrol cars cruised by the protest, prompting waves from the crowd on the sidewalk. A few cars honked their horns to cheers, and a couple of city workers poked their heads out of windows to listen to the speakers.

A few local candidates, including James Bledsoe, who is running for Raleigh City Council, and Damon Chetson, who is running for Wake County District Attorney, were in attendance.

The protesters had planned to attend the City Council meeting, but it was switched from in-person to virtual after Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

Both Davis and Matthew Cooper, president of the Raleigh Police Protective Association, called into the meeting to share their concerns with city leaders. Baldwin was in attendance at the virtual meeting.

“We felt compelled to speak today because both the staffing levels of the Raleigh Police Department and the crime rate of Raleigh is now at a dangerous tipping point,” Cooper said. “A point where if action is not taken, there will be dangerous consequences.”

The demands

Rick Armstrong, vice president of the Teamsters Local 391, said the police department needs 10% raises for all employees to be competitive.

Similarly, Davis said the fire department needs a raise that brings employees up to the city’s “living hourly wage” of $18.19.

Buffkin asked the city manager to provide information about what it would cost to cover those requests by May 3.

City Manager Marchell Adams-David also plans to provide a comprehensive report on what the city has done since implementing a pay study in 2017 and the factors that go into setting pay for employees.

It’s difficult to just look at one department in isolation, she said, when there are 4,300 full-time employees and more than 3,000 part-time workers.

“While every role is critical and important to this organization’s success, we have to make sure that we look out for all of our employees,” Adams-David said. “So we will be intentional, deliberate, fair and as impartial as we possibly can to bring you forward a budget that addresses all of the concerns that are near and dear to your heart, that are near and dear to my heart as well as near and dear to the hearts of our community and our employees.”

Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council approved a 2% cost-of-living adjustment that will go to all employees starting with their next paycheck. It’s likely all employees could see additional merit-based raises once the budget is approved, which must be done by July 1.

A living wage

Calculating the living wage for firefighters can be tricky. Tuesday, Adams-David clarified there isn’t an hourly living wage but an annual living wage.

“The living wage is not an hourly calculation,” Adams-David said. “It is an annual calculation based on the universal living wage formula.”

The minimum annual salary of a Raleigh firefighter is higher than the annual living wage salary, $36,052.

But most city employees work 40-hour workweeks, or 2,080 hours a year. That’s an hourly wage of $18. Firefighters work hundreds more hours, 2,920 a year, and have an hourly wage closer to $13.

Further complicating the issue is that once firefighters work a certain number of hours in a given time frame, they are paid time-and-a-half under federal guidelines. But that extra pay isn’t calculated if they take time off or take vacation time. And, when comparing departments in other municipalities, some jurisdictions don’t pay firefighters for time they sleep at the station, though Raleigh does.

“I think that rather than paying $13 an hour, and then trying to make up the difference with overtime, we really should be starting at a place where we’re paying the livable rate,” said Council member David Cox, during Tuesday’s meeting. “And then paying overtime on top of that for the hours, the overtime hours that they’re actually working.”

Council member Stormie Forte asked if the fire department should look at moving from 24-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts to help address some of those concerns.

Vacancy discrepancies

Last week, the city manager reported 168 vacancies in the police department and two in the fire department.

“Recruitment is really not an issue in the Raleigh Fire Department, at all,” Adams-David said. “I wish that was the case in the Raleigh Police Department.”

The firefighters association said the reported number of vacancies doesn’t have context. It doesn’t include offers for employees who won’t start the job until early next year.

“This is a critical public safety issue,” said Davis at the protest. “Our communities are facing relaxed fire service this summer, relaxed service for wrecks, (for) emergency medical calls because the city manager has not attended to these issues.

“This issue was not made overnight. This has been a long time coming. And quite frankly, we are fed up.”