2013
CONTRACT
"The raises are on par with what they gave other city workers. The promotional procedure was important because we have a set pattern of how were going to do it. It would take seven or eight years to be eligible for promotion previously. Now they have to be there five years and work at least 2,000 hours in that five-year period," said MAFF Labor Relations Specialist Joe O'Connor. "Captains and Lieutenants were required to attend meetings and they weren't being paid for them. They were receiving stipends and the City argued that was their payment. Now they're receiving their hourly rate of pay for going to these meeting and the stipend stayed the same. That was a significant gain for them. The Employer has agreed to promote two Lieutenants for each one of the stations. They currently don't have that manpower."
Contract Duration: 4-year agreement, ratified Sept. 7, 2014, and effective 6-30-13 to 7-31-17.
Wage Increases: 2% wage increase upon contract ratification.
• $200 one-time stipend effective 9-26-14 paid to all current members as Employer is now paying Employees their earnings one week later instead of paying their wages in the week they earn them.
• $400 stipend to current members (equals 2% pay increase for average paid-on-call) effective 7-1-15.
• 2% wage increase effective 7-1-16.
CONTRACT
"The big thing was the stand-by time, the increase in that wage. That went up by almost $3 an hour, but that was to offset the loss of hours they are faced with due to the Affordable Care Act. They increased the pay for everything else with the exception of the EMS runs," said MAFF Labor Relations Specialist Joe O'Connor. "The number of paid holidays was increased by five and it's the day the city recognizes (the holidays) on. If the city celebrates on Friday, they can work the Friday, get the time and a half and stay home with their family on the holiday itself. The grievance procedure was more clearly defined. We established a panel of arbitrators to select from and a procedure to select the arbitrators in lieu of paying AAA."
Contract Duration: 4-year agreement, ratified June 24, 2014, and effective 7-1-13 to 6-30-17.
Wage Increases: Paid-on-call fire fighters when toned out receive:
$26 per hour for Fire Rescue runs, a 4% increase.
$23.50 per hour for EMS runs, a 6% reduction.
$20 per hour for Stand-by-Duty, a 15.6% increase.
$18 per hour for Meetings, a 4% increase.
Tone out runs were previously paid at $25 per hour. To help offset the increases in Stand-by and Meeting pay, the Employer separated the toned out runs into two categories, Fire Rescue (increased by $1 per hour) and EMS (reduced $1.50 per hour). POC are expected to make up the loss of pay for EMS runs through the pay increases in other areas.
• POC Officers monthly stipend was increased by $25 per month:
Captain $275, a 10% increase.
Lieutenant $233, an 11.8% increase.
Sergeant $192, a 15% increase.
• Instructors pay increased to $20 per hour, a 5% increase.
CONTRACT
“The Township wanted to disband the fire department and merge them with another community,” said MAFF Labor Rep. Donnell Reed. “We were able to prevent that from happening through other (non-wage) cuts. The no-layoff provision for the first two years of the 3-year contract gives them job security.”
Contract Duration: 3-year agreement ratified 8-27-13 and effective 7-1-13 to 6-30-16.
Wages: Preserves current wages for three years when Employer was seeking a 20% wage concession.
Retirement: Preserves defined benefit pension with a small concession of bridging down the multiplier going forward from 2.5% to 1.7% instead of the 1% that the Employer was seeking.
Fringe Benefits:
• New Paid Time Off (PTO) System which can be used for sick, vacation and personal time off, which will be paid out of the Employee’s sick banks at 100% by the end of 2013. The Employer wanted to eliminate sick leave banks permanently and pay out the current balances at 100% for the first 100 hours, then 50% for the next 100 hours, and 25% for the remainder of sick leave bank hours up to 800 hours.
- No-layoff provision and maintain staffing levels for first two years of the agreement.
- Maintain 28-day work schedule. The Employer sought an 8/10/12 hour work schedule at the discretion of the Fire Chief.
Health Care: Changed to a more affordable plan under PA 152 Hard Cap that reduces the Employer’s contribution obligation due to the cost of the plan.
Bargaining Team: Labor Relations Specialist Donnell Reed and Association President Jason Gonzalez.
GREEN OAK FIRE CONTRACT SETTLEMENT
“It was not only great receiving a long-deserved raise of 3 percent per year for five years, but also a MERS Defined Benefit Plan in a day when many cities and townships are turning to a Defined Contribution Plan,” said MAFF Labor Rep. Ed Wertz.
CONTRACT
Contract Duration: 5-year agreement ratified 3-12-13 and effective 4-1-13 to 3-31-18.
Wage Increases: 3% per contract year for each classification, including new Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) position (discussed below).
Retirement: All full-time fire fighters and Fire Inspector position will receive MERS Defined Benefit Plan.
Fringe Benefits:
- Time and a half wages will be paid for on-call responses for incidents and staffing shift work on Township-recognized holidays.
- Bonus language pre-2011 will be reinstated with the modification that the bonus for each level, EMT, EMT-S, AEMT, and EMT-P will be $150.
- Career holiday pay will be paid on first payday in November.
- Addition of a third level of longevity pay of $500 after 12 years of service for career employees.
New position: An EVT position, equal in pay to paid on-call lieutenant, will be created with a $300 annual uniform allowance. The EVT exists outside the typical chain of command. The EVT reports directly to the Chief or Deputy Chief, except during incident operations in which the EVT reports to the designated Incident Commander.
Uniform/Equipment Allowance: Current language will be removed and replaced with the following “Equipment Stipend.” Each non-probationary Department member shall on the first payday of March in each contract year, be paid the lump sum of $100 as an equipment stipend to compensate them for incidental personal expenses related to emergency equipment. Members shall not be required to submit further documentation to be eligible for this stipend.
Bargaining Team: Labor Relations Specialist Ed Wertz and Association President Tracy Chamberlain.
