CONTRACT
“Signing of the contract was delayed since the Employer merged the NEW Full-Time Fire Fighters into the existing contract,” said MAFF Labor Relations Specialist Joe O’Connor.
“Three Full-Time Fire Fighters were added. Existing Paid-on-Call Fire Fighters were promoted (to the Full-Time positions),” said Brad Rennells, Northfield Township Fire Fighters Local Union Treasurer. “It better impacted the services as we were able to fill the schedule. It was very difficult scheduling around everyone’s full-time jobs. We still have the core group of volunteers and we‘ve had a couple new hires since the contract, and we’re also in the process of bringing on a few more, so things are looking bright hopefully,” Rennells said of staff retention. “(Paid-on-Call) used to have a tiered structure, so depending on what we were doing, you were paid differently. Getting that one consistent rate for whatever we were doing was a huge plus on our side. For Lieutenants and Captains … there were pluses and minuses to both stipend and hourly. Collectively, we wished for an hourly wage without stipulations. Previously, you had to make 30% of the calls or you didn’t get paid (the stipend).”
Contract Duration: 3-year agreement ratified Nov. 2021 and effective 7-1-21 thru 6-30-24.
Wage Increases:
$22 hourly effective July 1, 2021 for Paid-on-Call (POC).
$17 hourly effective July 1, 2021 for POC Duty Shifts.
$14.50 hourly effective July 1, 2021 for POC Training.
$20.50 hourly effective Jan. 1, 2022 for POC, Duty Shifts & Training.
$22.66 hourly effective Jan. 1, 2022 for Lieutenants.
$23.87 hourly effective Jan. 1, 2022 for Captains.
Wage Reopener for all above Employees July 1, 2023.
Wage Increases for NEW Full-Time Fire Fighters:
$48,000 annually effective July 1, 2021.
$53,000 annually effective July 1, 2022.
$59,000 annually effective July 1, 2023.
****$68,000 annually effective July 1, 2024.
*Contract is retroactive to July 1, 2021 due to a delay in settlement caused by the NEW addition of Full-Time Fire Fighters to the staff and Bargaining Unit.
**Lieutenants and Captains were added to pay scale effective Jan. 1, 2022 in lieu of their prior contract annual stipend.
***POC had three different rates of pay – POC, Duty Crew and Training. The pay rates were adjusted so all three classifications are paid the same effective Jan. 1, 2022.
****While the bargaining agreement is 3 years, a four-step pay scale was established for Full-Time positions, guaranteeing their starting pay in the next contract.
Health Care: Full-time Employees receive BCBS Simply Blue HSA Silver Plan.
Retirement: Full-time Employees receive MERS Pension Plan B-3, V-6, F55 retirement with 20 years of service, or age 60 with less than 20 years of service. The Final Average Compensation (FAC) is based on the three highest consecutive years of annual salary and bonuses.
Fringe Benefits: Each Full-time Employee earns one 24-hour day per month in Paid Time Off (PTO) up a maximum accumulation of 20 days.
- Full-time Employees receive 240 hours of Holiday Pay for all annual holidays whether or not they work the Holiday.
- Full-Time Employees also receive straight time pay when working a Holiday.
- Longevity Pay of $300 per year will be paid to Full-Time Employees after 5 years of service. Longevity Pay increases by $300 every 5 years thereafter.
- Each Full-Time Employee is entitled to two Bereavement Days at the straight time pay rate. An additional Bereavement Day may be added at the discretion of the Director.
Bargaining Team: MAFF Labor Relations Specialist Joe O’Connor, Local Union President Russ Hollister, Treasurer Brad Rennells and Charles Smith.
