By Liz Zemba
The Tribune-Review
FAYETTE, Pa. — Firefighters in Fayette County who were told they would soon be out of jobs will instead have raises and a new contract that protects them from layoffs for the next four years, according to their attorney.
In addition, firefighters who were laid off in December are to be recalled immediately and Myron Nypaver is to be reinstated as chief, said Joshua Bloom, attorney for International Association of Firefighters Local 955.
“In these tough times right now, I’m absolutely thrilled to have this happen, to save jobs,” Bloom said Sunday. “Hopefully, it’s a bridge over troubled waters, for at least four years.”
Bloom and Uniontown Mayor Ed Fike said the new labor contract and other developments are the result of a unanimous ruling issued Friday by a panel of three arbitrators. The panel was convened to consider a grievance filed by the union over the layoffs and to negotiate a new contract, Bloom said.
Bloom said the panel’s decision is binding. Fike said, “It appears we have come to an agreement.”
Fike said council will meet in special session at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to vote on the contract. He said he anticipates it will pass, despite council having notified firefighters last month of plans to furlough the department in favor of a volunteer force.
“We have to be adults and agree to do what’s best for everybody involved, and we have to take into consideration the safety of our citizens,” Fike said. “Both sides seem to be happy. If not happy, they feel they did the best they could do.”
The fire department’s contract with the city expires at the end of the year. The new labor contract calls for annual raises of 3.5 percent, Bloom said, as well as the provision prohibiting layoffs. It is to take effect Jan. 1 and run through Dec. 31, 2014.
Fike last month said the plan to eliminate the department was aimed at saving money. Yesterday, he said a $632,835 federal grant for the fire department will help cover the department’s expenses.
The Department of Homeland Security in May awarded the city the grant through its Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program, or SAFER.
Last month’s layoff notice prompted the International Association of Firefighters, which was holding its annual convention in San Diego at the time, to issue an emergency resolution condemning Fike and the plan. In a news release, the association described the proposed layoffs as a “cold slap in the face.”
The fire department has not been fully staffed since December, when council voted to lay off seven of 13 firefighters to balance a $4.6 million budget. Since that time, two firefighters were called back after one retired.
In addition to the new labor contract and firefighter recalls, the panel’s ruling calls for Nypaver to be reinstated as chief and code enforcement officer, Bloom said. Council in January 2009 demoted Nypaver to assistant chief and stripped him of his code-enforcment duties.
Chuck Coldren, who took over as fire chief after Nypaver was demoted, yesterday said firefighters are to meet at 4 p.m. today to review the panel’s findings.
“The guys at the fire station are really pleased,” Coldren said. “It was a lot of work on both sides. The willingness to work it out had to come from both sides.”
Mark Lovey, president of Local 955, could not be reached for comment.
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