Firefighters finish contract negotiations

By: SLOAN BREWSTER, Press staff
07/18/2008

MIDDLETOWN - After a year of negotiations, the Middletown Firefighters Local Union 1073 and the Common Council agreed to a new contract this week.
The contract, which is retroactive back to July of 2007, gives firefighters a 17 percent raise over five years and creates four new positions, bringing on-duty staff numbers to 14 firefighters per shift.
The national standard is 17, said union Vice President Chris Augieri.
The incremental raises begin at three percent the first year, then for the next two years go to three-and-a-quarter percent. Year four brings three-and-a-half percent increases; and finally, the firefighters receive a four percent hike in year five.
Augieri and firefighter Sal D'Aquila said they were pleased the department increased staff numbers.
Augieri, a firefighter in town for 11 years, spoke of times when, early in his career with the department, only one guy would man an engine on the way to a fire. Now engines go out with a minimum of three on board. The additional crew assures public and firefighter safety, he said.
"It does cost the public some, but also the safety of what they're going to get and what we're going to get," said D'Aquila, who has been a member of the department for eight years.
To come to an agreement, and avoid arbitration - for which the union filed at one point - both sides had to compromise.
The union consented to higher insurance-premium prescription costs.
"The premium cost share doubled," D'Aquila said.
The union also conceded to a firm sick-time abuse policy, which set parameters allowing the city to monitor sick time.
"It wasn't a problem, it was just something to fall back on," Augieri said. "So (when) you've been out five days, [officials can ask] is everything OK? The city was looking to get something that was put in black and white."
Members also agreed to a just cause policy that allows for anyone convicted of a felony to lose his or her job and pension.
Discussion on the policy went back and forth, the men said.
"We wanted to make sure wording was there to protect our members," D'Aquila said. "We were worried about people's families, if somebody did do something we didn't want to hurt them any more."
Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano advocated for the contract and said he was satisfied with it.
"On the whole we thought this was a very good contract for the city," Giuliano said. "The raises were fair, below CPI - Consumer Price Index; CPI is at 5 percent, they're at 3 to 4 percent."
The mayor also favored the adjustments to the insurance policy, which he said will save the city money.
Fire Chief Gary Oullette also said he thought the contract was satisfactory and fair. One sticking point he fought for was keeping firefighters' shifts as they are.
Currently the shifts are 24 hours on and 72 hours off. As an idea to keep new hire numbers down, council member Earle Roberts suggested changing it to 24 hours on and 48 hours off.
Doing that would mandate a 56-hour work week and cost the city money in over time, the chief said.
"That's a lot of money times all the firefighters per week, ... There's no cost savings and it brings up a safety issue for me, too," Oullette said. "Just work fill in, and that's a 70-hour week."
Both sides made strong compromises, said Geen Thazampallath, Giuliano's administrative assistant.
In the end, the council approved the contract by a narrow margin, with five members in favor and four opposed.
David Bauer, Gerald Daley, Philip Pessina, Earle Roberts and Robert Santangelo were in favor and Grady Faulker, Vincent Lolfredo, Hope Kasper and James Streeto were opposed.
Not all union members voted in favor of the settlements, either.
"It was not a unanimous vote on our part by the union body," D'Aquila said. "That shows that both sides made concessions."