The city of Austin’s deadline to OK a labor contract with the Austin Fire Department is coming up fast, but contract negotiations are at a standstill.
Talks broke down earlier this month, when the city rolled out an offer to the Austin Firefighters Association. The union balked at the offer, arguing it didn't give any across-the-board wage increases to firefighters, and walked away from the bargaining table. Talks will continue this week.
Ron DeLord, an attorney who is representing AFA, called the city’s offer insulting, given the raises it has given to police and EMS employees over the past few years.
"The city has been very good to the police and very good to EMS and treated them with respect," DeLord said at the Sept. 10 meeting. "This is not a respectful offer."
EMS staff saw pay increases starting at 4% starting in 2023 after they negotiated their most recent contract. The Austin Police Department nabbed a 28% raise over five years in its labor talks last year.
A spokesperson for the city said the offer to the firefighter union was in line with contracts in comparable cities, that it has met some of the union's demands and that the proposal was meant to be a jumping off point.
AFA President Bob Nicks said the city's offer failed to meet the union's two goals: a wage increase across the board and a reduction in minimum hours of work per week. The city's proposal does offer a 4% increase in wages for early-career firefighters, but just for the first year of the contract.
Nicks said the proposal's required hours could also end up adding hours to firefighters' work weeks. The city said its contract would reduce work hours, but Nicks said he disagrees.
"For [the City] to claim publicly that they met some of our desires is just absolutely disingenuous," he said.
A city spokesperson said the department's wages are among the highest in the state, and took issue with the union's social media posts about contract negotiations.
"Rather than using social media to share their concerns, we hope the union will come back to the table and negotiate in good faith," the city spokesperson said.
Disagreements aside, the clock is ticking: the city's contract with the Austin firefighters union ends Sunday. Though, the city has said it could extend the contract, if necessary.
Nicks said the union and the city are set to meet Thursday, and he hopes they can find some common ground to get a deal ironed out.
"I know we're going there with open ears and, [we're] ready to hear what they have to discuss with us," he said
