Somerville Agrees To 3-Year Contract With Firefighters Union

Read some of the fine print details in the contract between the city and its firefighters.

By Benjamin Pierce, Patch Staff

Sep 16, 2026 11:12 AM EDT

SOMERVILLE, MA — Mayor Jake Wilson announced this week that the city has agreed to a new three-year contract with the Firefighters Association of Somerville Local 76 Union.

The agreement covers the city's firefighters from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, and comes after the previous collective bargaining agreement expired at the end of June. Local 76 members have already ratified the contract, while the Somerville City Council has voted to fund it.

Key provisions of the agreement include a 2% cost-of-living adjustment in each year of the contract and an additional 2% pay increase for firefighters with 20 or more years of service. The annual EMT certification stipend will also increase to $6,000, while a new emergency medical response stipend will begin at $1,000 before increasing to $2,000 during the second year of the agreement. The stipend recognizes firefighters for administering Narcan, using LUCAS devices, and providing other emergency medical treatments.

The agreement also establishes a city-funded cancer-screening account of $50,000 that will be replenished annually to help eligible firefighters pay for certain job-related screenings. Firefighters will receive 18 sick days annually and will be allowed to use up to 10 sick days for an approved Family and Medical Leave Act absence to care for an immediate family member. Employees who give birth will also be eligible for eight weeks of paid maternity leave.

"Local 76 would like to thank Mayor Wilson and his team for keeping true to their word and putting the work in to get this agreement done," Local 76 President Mike Jefferson said in a statement. "This is what bargaining in good faith looks like, having a contract done in a timely manner and not waiting years to come to an agreement like we had become so accustomed to in the past."

The contract additionally updates provisions related to education reimbursement, promotional processes, vacation use, bereavement leave, and return-to-duty training following an extended absence. Local 76's previous three-year contract was reached under former Mayor Katjana Ballantyne in 2024 and provided firefighters with 3% annual cost-of-living increases, along with expanded education and training incentives and other benefits.

"This agreement recognizes the skill and service of our firefighters, including their growing role in emergency medical response, while providing stability for Local 76, the City, and our taxpayers," Wilson said in a statement. "I'm grateful to everyone who came to the table in good faith and got this done."