AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Firefighters Association could take actions that may ultimately reduce the Austin Fire Department's workforce after they say contract negotiations with the city have stalled.
"It does not appear at this time the City was ever serious about bargaining in good faith," said Ronald DeLord, an attorney representing the union.
In a letter, which the union posted to its social media pages, DeLord recommended between now and Sept. 28, "when the impasse is legally triggered" the union consider the following:
Start an education campaign "to assist its members who are not vested in the pension in locating cities that have negotiated competitive wages and adopted hours of work that reduce the physical and mental stress on firefighters" Reach out to all candidates applying for AFD to tell them "there is no future in working for the City of Austin." That includes a public media campaign and having off-duty firefighters stand at testing sites to tell candidates "The City does NOT respect its firefighters" And allow the union to vote on whether it will support Austin's tax rate election or not"Time is of the essence. It is time to stop the anti-firefighter rhetoric and hardball negotiations," DeLord wrote.
Austin Firefighters Association Chief Bob Nicks told KXAN that the union has not officially decided to use any of those tactics, but is considering them.
"We'll look at all of those thoughtfully," Nicks said. "Whether we consider it or not, firefighters looking for jobs are not stupid ... now firefighters are realizing that Austin has had stagnated wages for a long time, that we're treated poorly by upper management and less and less people are showing up to take the test."
A city of Austin spokesperson responded with the following:
"The City is currently in negotiations with the Austin Firefighters Association (AFA) for a four-year agreement. The 60-day bargaining period began on July 30 and ends on September 28.
The City presented a proposal on September 10 based on market rate studies of comparable fire departments. The City’s proposal served as a starting point for discussion and included a plan to achieve the union’s desired modified schedule and reduced work week. Rather than offer a counterproposal, the AFA walked away from negotiations. The City values all of our employees and first responders, including our firefighters, and would like the AFA to return to the table and resume negotiations.
We were recently successful in protecting our firefighters’ pension, implementing a 2% increase to their hourly rate, and reducing their work hours. The City is committed to negotiating in good faith and we are confident that we can reach a reasonable agreement with all parties at the table."
The city of Austin also shared its compensation analysis with KXAN, done by PFM Group Consulting. It shows firefighter base pay in Austin starts at $62,159 per year (after the academy) and maxes out at $107,208 (which requires more than two decades of service), according to the document.
"After nine years of service, most firefighters have advanced to the non-supervisory rank of Fire Specialist, for which maximum base pay reaches $115,785," the study said.
PFM looked at the seven most populous cities in Texas (aside from Austin) and found Austin's maximum base pay for firefighters was higher than any other major Texas city. But it also showed the starting base rate for Austin lagged behind cities like Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio.
Nicks said the city is now offering a 4% raise for roughly half of the department in year one, and then no general wage increase for the following three years. The union is also arguing for different firefighter work weeks -- similar to Portland's model -- and is at odds with the city over that too, Nicks said.
"Our goals have not changed. Basically, we want a wage offer like EMS and Police and a work week reduction. In exchange, the firefighters are willing to provide changes to the labor agreement that the City has been desiring for years," Nicks wrote.
The negotiations are streamed through the city of Austin's Labor Relations Office. During the September 10 meeting, the city of Austin said the 4% wage increase the first year would focus on entry and mid-level firefighters. The city said that to meet AFA's demands on workweek reduction, it would need to hire more full-time employees. They suggested the costs associated with not giving a blanket raise in the final years of the contract would pay for those employees.
"This is not a respectful offer," DeLord responded at that last meeting.
"I beg to differ on what our proposals mean ... we hear you and we're saying we are considering this Portland schedule and reducing the work hours but we need a plan in order to help staff those additional FTEs that are needed for the vacancies created by the reduction in the work week," the city negotiator countered.
The firefighter union stood up and walked out of that meeting, with DeLord telling the city if they don't put money on the table, the union will see them in arbitration.
The current contract expires in October, KXAN previously reported. You can find the details of the previous contract here.
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