City firefighters unions plan pickets in advance of contract negotiations

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Screen Shot 2017 03 06 at 6.58.40 PMThe Manchester Professional Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 856, and the Manchester Association of Fire Supervisors, IAFF Local 3820, plan to hold several informational pickets over the coming week. The purpose of these pickets is to inform the public, as well as the Board of Mayor and Alderman, that when it comes to negotiating contracts, their members are tired of the “business as usual” approach from City Hall.

According to Jeff Duval, President of Local 856, for the past three years the City has been dragging its feet until a budget has been put in place before agreeing to any type of cost of living (COLA) increase for the firefighters.

“Because of this tactic firefighters have had to agree to one-year agreements with COLAs of 0 percent and 1 percent in the past two contract extensions,” said Duval. Last year the firefighters were looking for a contract similar to what was given to both police units. But the City employed the same tactic last year, of dragging the process out.  The firefighters had to declare an impasse in negotiations and filed for mediation and fact-finding.  While the fact-finders report did not give the firefighters everything the BMA had given to the police units, it made recommendations on several issues.

“We did not get everything we were asking for in the fact-finders report. However, the fact-finding report did recommend COLAs of 3 percent and 3 percent, along with the hazardous duty pay that the BMA approved for the police units,” Jim Michael, President of Local 3820, said.

Both the Firefighters and Fire Supervisors approved the fact-finders report. The report was presented to the Board of Mayor and Alderman and passed on a majority vote. Mayor Ted Gatsas, presiding at the time, vetoed the motion.

“While we are still in a second round of the mediation process, the BMA, which had offered a two-year deal last year with COLAs of 2 percent and 2 percent, are now offering what equates to a one-year deal with a COLA of 1 percent for this current fiscal year and no offer for next year.  That would equate to a 0.25 percent increase for the fiscal year if we came to an agreement by April 1st, which is impossible.” stated Duval.  “That offer is not only insulting but completely disrespectful to our members, who continue to respond to increased call volume daily,” added Michael.

IAFFThe informational pickets will start on Tuesday March 27 at the next mediation session, with another scheduled for the next BMA meeting on Tuesday April 3.

“We believe that our Brothers and Sisters in the Police Department certainly deserved the contract that the Board passed effective July of ’17.  We are hoping that this Board of Mayor and Alderman will begin to take our negotiations seriously and stop with the same old rhetoric. We are only asking that they treat the fire side of public safety the same as the police side, just as it has for the past twenty years.” said Duval.


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Submitted by Jeff Duval, President Local 856 and Jim Michael, President Local 3820

 

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