Council mulls approval of 3-year firefighter pact

By David Skolnick

The law director is recommending that council approve the deal.

YOUNGSTOWN — City council will consider approving a three-year contract today with its firefighters union that would include a 3-percent retroactive pay raise during the deal’s first year and give the two sides room to negotiate possible raises during the final two years.

In a letter to city council, Law Director Iris Torres Guglucello said she favors the adoption of a nonbinding fact-finder’s report on the two remaining issues with the union. Council will meet today in executive session to discuss the report and vote on the proposed deal.

Councilman Jamael Tito Brown, D-3rd, said council historically approves fact-finder reports on union contracts.

David Cook, president of the city’s 140-member firefighters’ union, expects his membership to approve the pact.

“I don’t foresee a problem with it,” he said. “It could be a lot worse. With today’s times, who knows what the alternative would be?”

Either side can reject the report. If that happens, a conciliator would hear both sides and make a binding decision.

The two sides had reached an agreement on every contract provision, except two, by Dec. 9. On that date, Robert G. Stein of Portage County, a fact finder, heard proposals from the city and the union on two issues.

The two issues are wages and health insurance benefits.

The city, which is experiencing financial problems, proposed no pay increase for the first year of the contract, Sept. 1, 2008, to Aug. 31, 2009, and then a 1-percent raise for the next 12 months, and a 1.5-percent raise for the final 12 months of the contract.

The union proposed a 3-percent raise for each year that would apply to wages and other economic benefits such as payment for longevity, hazardous-duty pay and on-call pay.

Stein called for a 3-percent pay raise, retroactive to September 2008, only on wages. As for the contract’s second and third years, Stein called for the contract to be reopened at one time to negotiate salary increases for the deal’s final two years.

Other unions received an annual 2.5-percent pay increase in 2008.

The average annual salary for a city firefighter is $52,000, according to Stein’s report.

The other issue addressed by Stein was employee contributions toward their health insurance premiums.

The firefighters contribute 10 percent of their monthly premiums with a cap of $35 for single coverage and $75 percent for family coverage.

The monthly premium for a city worker is $412 for singles and $1,042 for family coverage.

The city wants the caps to be removed, while the union wanted the caps to remain as is.

Stein is recommending an increase in the monthly caps to $80 for single coverage and $150 for family coverage. Those are the same caps the city’s police unions have.

skolnick@vindy.com