By Mike labella
The Eagle-Tribune
HAVERHILL, Mass. — The city’s firefighters have agreed to give up a large chunk of the $2.5 million in retroactive pay they were granted by a state arbitration panel, will pay more for their health insurance, and will allow the city to implement civilian fire dispatch in the fire department.
In return, they will receive a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase for each of the next two fiscal years, along with 10.5 percent in retroactive pay the state awarded, which amounts to a 1.75 percent increase per year for the last six years.
Mayor James Fiorentini said the agreement he reached with the Haverhill Fire Department Union Local 1011 amends the arbitration award granted a month ago by the Massachusetts Joint Labor Management Committee requiring the city pay firefighters $2.5 million in retroactive pay,
As part of the modified agreement with the city, firefighters waived $524,101 in retroactive pay for 2007 through 2009. They also agreed to defer $224,371, or half of their retroactive pay for 2010 to fiscal year 2013 — giving the city more time to find the money.
Fiorentini said the agreement means the city must come up with nearly $1.5 million this year to cover the cost of retroactive pay.
The fire department has been without a contract since 2006, and has not had a comprehensive signed agreement since 2002.
A signing ceremony Fiorentini held in his office in City Hall was attended by firefighter union president Lt. Greg Roberts, firefighter bargaining committee chairman Lt. Roger Moses, fire Chief Richard Borden, Public Safety Commissioner Alan Denaro and City Council President John Michitson.
Fiorentini called the agreement “a reasonable compromise” where neither side can claim victory and neither side achieved all it wanted, but everyone achieved something. He also called it “the start of a new day and a new relationship with the fire department.”
Fiorentini said the negotiations leading up to the agreement were “long and not always pleasant,” but credited firefighters with working with him in amending the state award. He said firefighters helped make the award more affordable to the city.
“The arbitration award issued by the state would have required us to pay $2.5 million in retroactive pay,” Fiorentini said. “This would have devastated city services and required cutbacks and layoffs in every city department.”
Moses said his bargaining committee worked hard at forging an agreement with the city and that the time for fighting with the city is over.
Under the terms of a twoyear agreement, firefighters will receive the 10.5 percent cost-of-living increase covering the last six years, as specified in the arbitration award, and a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase for fiscal years 2013 and 2014. The retroactive amount is roughly equivalent to what police patrolmen received, the mayor said.
They also agreed to pay 25 percent for health care premiums, instead of the current 20 percent. New firefighters will pay 30 percent retroactive to fiscal year 2010. Officials said the 30 percent rate impacts the city’s eight new firefighters.
Firefighters also agreed to allow the city to implement civilian dispatch in the fire department in the same manner as police agreed to in their contract. One civilian and one firefighter will be on duty at all times.
Fiorentini said the arbitration award had denied the city’s request to implement civilian dispatch in the fire department.
Roberts said members of his union voted Thursday evening to ratify the proposal, and that it passed with a majority vote. Local Union 1011 has 90 members representing all ranks in the fire department except the fire chief.
Michitson said on the surface the agreement seemed very reasonable and that it will be brought before the City Council for a vote when it meets on Tuesday.
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