NLV approves tentative agreement with firefighters unions

By Aida Ahmed

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 | 6:55 p.m.

The North Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday voted to approve a tentative agreement with the International Association of Firefighters and Firefighter Supervisors Local 1607.

The agreement reduces base salaries for supervisory and non-supervisory employees by 5 percent from Aug. 1 to Jan. 31, spread evenly over 13 pay periods. The deal will save 35 firefighter jobs.

Joyce Lira, the city’s director of human resources, said the six-month agreement comes with about $1.65 million in concessions. They include educational reimbursements, uniform maintenance pay, and bilingual and educational incentives.

The unions voted to approve the contract earlier this week.

Union President Jeff Hurley said the concessions were necessary to maintain firefighter staffing and to help the city.

“The firefighters wanted to make sure we didn’t do anything to hinder the city’s recovery,” Hurley said.

Since 2008, the union has made six rounds of concessions. Hurley estimates North Las Vegas firefighters have given up $20 million in wages and benefits.