Firefighters Give UFA Pact an Overwhelming Margin of Approval

Uniformed Firefighters Association members overwhelmingly ratified their 2008-2010 wage agreement Dec. 11, with 96 percent of those who returned ballots voting to approve.

STEVE CASSIDY: Members endorse his judgment.

The wage pact reached on Oct. 14 provides two 4-percent raises plus an additional 3.5-percent increase negotiated under a re-opener clause from a previous pact, allowing Firefighters at maximum salary to maintain pay parity with Police Officers.

The vote, conducted by the American Arbitration Association, tallied 7,043 in favor of the contract and 242 opposed.

Cassidy Pleased by 'Mandate'

"The executive board is gratified at the mandate the membership has shown in approving this contract," UFA President Steve Cassidy said in a statement.

Where several other uniformed unions accepted the 3.5-percent hike only for maximum salary in order to reduce their concessions to the city, the UFA deal provides that hike to all members.

But the UFA had to accept a smaller starting salary than is provided under the current deal for Police Officers, whose starting salary will reach $41,975 next Aug. 1. It will improve to just $39,370 for Firefighters on that date.

As is the case for Police Officers, the deal will automatically increase Firefighter longevity payments by the same percentage that wages rise beginning with the pact's final day, July 31, 2010. There will also be a $253 increase in longevity payments on each step of the differential scale at that point.

Salaries between cops and firefighters have been linked for more than a century, but maximum pay has been the traditional benchmark for parity.

The contract had also been overwhelmingly approved by the firehouse delegates' assembly. UFA members had expressed satisfaction with the wage hikes, although many did not believe that they would allow them to give up working side jobs.