Warren firefighters approve cuts, preserve jobs

WARREN — Firefighters approved a concessionary contract today that saves the city $86,000 and preserves the jobs of two firefighters who were threatened with layoffs.

Marc Titus, president of the union representing the department’s 52 firefighters, said the membership approved the contract 33-15.

The one-year contract includes the three major concessions approved by other bargaining units earlier: firefighters will now pay 10 percent of their health-care premium; their wages will be frozen, and the city’s share of the firefighters’ pension will drop from 10 percent to 8 percent.

Titus said the contract requires the department to have a staffing level of at least 11 per day, one of the main issues that prevented the city and the firefighters from reaching an agreement earlier, Titus said.

“We were fighting over manning the entire time, not money,” Titus said of negotiations that lasted a week longer than those with police officers and most other workers.

Titus says the only thing left now is for elected officials to agree to the same type of concessions that rank-and-file workers have.

“We’re asking them to lead by example,” Titus said. He noted that Mayor Michael O’Brien gave back his cost of living increase, but others have not.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.