By FireRescue1 Staff
AUSTIN, Texas — A new labor agreement aims to mitigate fire department overtime costs by restructuring vacation hours and creating a faster training pipeline.
CBS Austin reported that the Austin Fire Association drafted the agreement in the hopes of addressing the rising costs that they say are largely due to a firefighter shortage.
Because of the shortage, the AFA said veteran firefighters are working extra shifts. AFA also said firefighters that were hired in the 1980s are retiring at a fast rate.
“We’re really in a period where a lot of people that were hired 30 years ago, like myself, are retiring, and they’re retiring at a rate of about 4-10 a month,” AFA president Bob Nicks said.
The AFA said hiring has slowed in the last several years despite the high demand.