Campbell council sends labor contract back to committee

CAMPBELL

City council voted Thursday to send a piece of legislation approving a labor contract with the city’s full-time firefighters back to committee for amendments.

The contract between the city and the Campbell Fire Fighters Association Local 2998 IAFF 7 OAPFF would have been effective as of April 19, 2021, but council President George Levendis wanted a section removed before he would agree to bring it to the floor.

The section in question establishes that the city will pay 4.5 percent of the employee’s 10 percent pension contribution. Levendis said he wanted to remove the pick-up as a cost saving measure.

“I think we’re one of the only cities in the state that does something like this,” Levendis said. “It’s not going to effect anyone who already has it — they’re grandfathered in. We just can’t afford this for new employees.”

Levendis said he doesn’t anticipate removing the section will derail the negotiations with the firefighters, though he did say if the section isn’t removed he would vote against the contract.