City and Firefighters Reach Tentative Labor Agreement

The city of Palo Alto and the firefighters' union have reached a tentative accord on terms for a new labor contract that will run through 2014, according to city and fire union officials.

The agreement, ratified Friday by union members, has been given preliminary approval by the City Council and will be voted on during its meeting Oct. 17.

The agreement will do away with the department-wide minimum staffing model that requires 29 firefighters to be on duty at all times, regardless of call volume.

“The elimination of the unit-wide minimum staffing requirement was a key objective in the city’s negotiations,” said City Manager James Keene in a statement released Friday afternoon. "This change is needed to help reduce overtime costs, provide more staffing flexibility and achieve operational efficiencies."

The accord between the city and Firefighters Union Local 1319 will create a second, less expensive tier pension formula for new hires of 3 percent for each year worked, with retirement eligibility at 55.

Other changes include modifying the base for pension calculations from the highest salary year to the average of the three highest consecutive salary years. This applies to future employees.

Firefighters will be required to pay their full nine percent PERS pension fees by the beginning of fiscal year 2012, and employees and future retirees will contribute 10 percent of their health insurance premiums.

The new contract is expected to save the city $1.1 million this year and $1.5 million annually starting next July, according to the statement. The elimination of the minimum staffing model will also save more money over time through a “more strategic deployment of staff resources,” according to the statement.

Negotiations, , have been fruitless up until this point, as both sides were unable to agree on staffing flexibility and structural changes. The city declared an impasse on Feb. 25.

City rules then required the dispute to enter binding arbitration, which began on Sept. 20 but will be canceled if the council ratifies the accord reached Friday.

“I am pleased that we have been able to reach agreement with our firefighter’s union after a long negotiation period,” said Mayor Sid Espinosa. “The city is not out of the woods, financially, but this agreement with the firefighters is a necessary step forward.” 

Tony Spitaleri, president of the Palo Alto firefighters union, International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1319, said, “The firefighters are pleased to have worked with the city to come to an agreement on a contract that will cover our terms of employment with the city for the next three years. In these tough economic times, it is important that we do what we can to make sure the city can meet its fiscal responsibilities. Like all negotiations, both sides came to compromise. We look forward to continuing to work with the city to provide the best services to the residents of Palo Alto.”

The new contract is expected to help the city close an expected $4.3 million funding gap.