Jacksonville firefighters approve new contract

[Patricia M. McBride]

Posted: October 22, 2010 - 9:45pm

By Timothy J. Gibbons

A month after the Jacksonville fire union rejected a contract with the city and saw 15 firefighters lose their jobs, the union approved a tweaked deal that promises them two years without layoffs.

The new agreement, which the union passed 641-380 Friday, still includes a 2 percent pay cut and requires employee insurance contributions but caps the amount.

“We’re pleased and appreciative of the vote of the membership,” mayoral spokeswoman Misty Skipper said.

If the union had not approved the deal, the two sides would have gone to impasse, where months would pass before the City Council mandated a final deal. Meanwhile, with the contract rejected, the city was looking for other ways to cut $1 million to $2 million from its budget.

The union-approved contract will now go to the council, which will vote on it Tuesday.

If council signs off on it, the contract will go into effect immediately. The 15 firefighters who were laid off would come back to work a week from today , and the 23 firefighters who were demoted would be bumped back up.

“I think it was a better deal,” said Lt. William Simmons, who had been demoted when the first contract attempt failed.

The mood around the department after that vote was “down,” he said. “I think this will be a big morale boost.”

The swing of the membership was due to the totality of the changes the city agreed to, according to union president Randy Wyse, who said he was not surprised at Friday’s outcome.

“The men and women of the department are just ready to get back to work fighting fires and saving lives,” Wyse said.

The deal approved by the union, which negotiators worked out two weeks ago, is similar to the one firefighters rejected in September aside from some key wording changes.

The major change was the extension of a ban on layoffs through September 2012. The rejected contract promised no layoffs for a year and would have added the additional year only if the Police and Fire Pension Fund board moves ahead with pension reform.

The firefighters have nothing to do with decisions made by the pension board, the fire union argued, so it doesn’t make sense to tie layoffs to them.

As in the rejected contract, firefighters will have pick up 5 percent of their personal health insurance costs, but the amount they’d have to pay will now be capped at $30 a month.

“The wording was cleared up and that removed the uncertainty,” said engineer George Bunk. “I’m glad it’s over. Now we can press on to other things.”

Although the legal wrangling is now over, relationships between the city and firefighters worsened over the course of the bitter negotiations, and it’s unclear if or when that will change.

“That’s up to the city,” Wyse said.

Skipper acknowledged the contentious nature of the negotiations but mending the relationship is possible.

“We respect and appreciate the work the firefighters do in the community,” she said. “We hope we can move forward in a positive manner.”

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