Las Vegas council OKs new contract with firefighter union

By Jackie Valley

Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016 | 6:10 p.m.

After a months-long negotiation process, firefighters working for the city of Las Vegas finally have a new contract that includes cost-of-living wage increases.

The Las Vegas City Council today unanimously approved a three-year contract between the city and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1285, the union representing non-supervisory employees of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. The new terms of the contract will cost the city an additional $11.47 million.

City Manager Betsy Fretwell deemed it a “challenging agreement to reach,” which the timeline of events supports: Negotiations began in February before being declared at an impasse several months later. Discussions between the two bargaining units, however, continued after the impasse, leading to the resolution before City Council members today.

Per terms of the new contract, union employees will receive cost-of-living wage increases of 2.25 percent for this year, 2017 and 2018. They also will accrue vacation time faster starting next year.

“It was a lot of work, but I think we did come together on a mutually agreeable package,” said Todd Ingalsbee, vice president of the IAFF Local 1285.

Not all agreements leaned in favor of the union, though.

The contract does away with the city’s bi-weekly, $45 contribution per employee to the Las Vegas Firefighters Health and Welfare Trust Agreement. The retiree subsidy contribution will be replaced by a 0.65 percent base wage increase in the first year of the contract — a change designed to save the city money.

The contract also includes changes intended to reduce the amount of overtime hours being logged by Las Vegas Fire and Rescue employees. For instance, the department will increase the number of “rover” paramedics and firefighters, who are permanent employees who fill shifts at various stations rather than being assigned to one.

City officials expressed relief that the negotiations ended in a settlement rather than litigation.

“They’ve been waiting for this for a really long time,” Fretwell said, referring to the men and women working for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. “I think sometimes they’re a little unsung in what they do.”

The union represents a wide portion of the department’s employees such as firefighters, fire captains, fire investigators and communications specialists. The new contract will be in effect, retroactively, from June 26 this year through June 30, 2019.