Melbourne firemen contract impasse heats up
Should new Melbourne firefighters be treated differently than ones already on the job?
That isonequestion at the heart of ongoing negotiations between the city and the firefighters' union.
The firefighters' contract expired in September 2012. Twenty-two meetings between the city and the union have failed to produce a new agreement.
City Manager Mike McNees said a formal declaration of impasse was made earlier this year because "very little" progress was being made in negotiations.
At a meeting set for May 29, a magistrate will listen to the union and city's representatives, and issue recommendations. Any items they still cannot agree upon will be determined by the Melbourne City Council in an impasse hearing.
They can't agree on five issues — relating to wages, pensions, staffing, hours worked and outside work provisions — so the next time they are scheduled to come to the table will be in front of a magistrate.
The city has proposed a tiered pension plan where newly hired firefighters would be required to contribute more toward their pensions than current employees. McNees said the city's proposal is similar to a contract reached with the police union and is necessary because of increasing costs to the city.
"It gets harder and harder to find resources to do what we have had on the table," he said. "One of the things we asked for is modest pension reform that would affect new firefighters."
The city is proposing: an up to 3.5 percent pay raise if the firefighters approve a pension plan that increases contribution rates from 6 percent to 7.5 percent for current employees and 8 percent for any new hires.
"We don't believe fracturing, or having two different plans, is a good idea," said Roger Van Kramer, president of the IAFF Local 1951, the firefighters' union. "The pension and benefits should be evenly split among the membership.
"We're all here basically doing the same job, we're facing the same risks," he said. The union wants a 5 percent cost of living increase, plus an additional 2.5 percent raise in September. Cost of the city-proposed raises and pension reform would be $205,129; as proposed by the firefighters it would cost an estimated $439,526 taxpayer dollars.
Also at issue:
• Staffing: The city has proposed a staffing shift that would require a certain number of firefighters working per shift, not per station or piece of equipment, as is done now. The city wants 36 firefighters — equivalent to current staffing, city officials said — on shift at a time; the union wants 37. The city says staffing shifts, not equipment, would give managers better ability to move firefighters to stations where there is more need.
• Hours of work and overtime: Currently, firefighters must take a 12-hour rest break in a 72-hour work period. The contract does not define that work period as hours worked at the city or a second job. The city wants to clarify that it means any job firefighters may hold. The city also wants all firefighters who want to start second jobs to get approval from the chief first.
Van Kramer said the union believes the city is adding too many provisions and duplicating protections already in place that relate to how firefighters spend their time off the clock.
"The policies we have are to assure when we come back to work we are rested," he said, later adding: "If you want to make a new rule, we've asked them to put it in the new employee agreement."