Firefighter's Union and County Reach Tentative Agreement

Negotiators for the Orange County Fire Authority announced today they concluded a tentative three-year memorandum of understanding with its employees that will still need ratification by the Orange County Employees Association’s board before it can go into effect.

Under the new MOU, which was approved by union members on Wednesday, employees will be required to pay 100 percent of their own retirement costs by phasing in their share over the three years of the agreement. The OCEA Board of Directors has scheduled their vote on the MOU for Jan. 22.

“We believe in creating a fair and equitable agreement for our employees, but we must also ensure that the interests of taxpayers within our 23 cities and the county are protected through this MOU,” said OCFA Board of Directors Chair Al Murray.

The term of the MOU runs from Dec. 19, 2014 to Dec. 15, 2017.

Under the MOU employees hired before Jan. 1, 2013 will pay an additional 2.5 percent and 3 percent in employee contributions, respectively, raising their contributions from 9 percent to 16.5 percent. These employees will also have to pay any subsequent increases in the 50 percent of normal cost of employee contributions that occur.

Those employees after California’s Public Employees Pension Reform Act of 2013 was enacted will continue to be subject to its requirement of assuming 50 percent of normal cost for employee pension contributions.

Employees also get pay hikes of 2.75 percent, 2.5 percent and 3 percent over the three years of the MOU. Bilingual pay will also be increased from $35 per month to $135 per month for eligible employees.

Effective March 6, sick leave and vacation hours taken will no longer count as hours worked for purposes of earning overtime pay. Employees will also receive one additional holiday, specifically Christmas Eve.

Employees can also begin working a four day/10 hours per day work schedule with the approval of executive management.

The OCFA and its employees will begin classification/compensation studies on three pre-defined classes and will reopen negotiations on compensation for those positions once the studies have been completed.

Finally, the parties agreed to reopen negotiations on 24-hour work shift for fire communication dispatchers sometime after July 1, 2016.

• City News Service