After two years of bitter negotiations, public demonstrations and debate, Louisville's firefighters yesterday began considering a new contract offer, which would provide their first pay raise in more than two years.
A simple majority of 553 union members must affirm the four-year deal, which would:
Set hourly wage increases, dating to the expiration of the previous contract in June 2005. There will be no increase for fiscal year 2006 and a 2 percent increase for fiscal year 2009. Neither union leadership nor the city would say what the proposed increase is for 2007 or 2008.
Set starting salary for recruits at $11.19 an hour, instead of the $10 an hour the administration wanted.
Give firefighters "longevity" pay raises for years of service, on top of their annual wage increases.
Make all wage increases retroactive, meaning firefighters who retired or were hired last year get the benefit of the raises.
Craig Willman, president of the Louisville Professional Fire Fighters Local 345, said he will spend the next two weeks explaining the proposal to rank-and-file members, who will vote Oct. 4-7. The votes will be tallied Oct. 8.
"This isn't a contract where all the gold was taken off the table," Willman said. "We didn't get some of the things we asked for, and they didn't get some of the things they asked for. But it's something we can build on."
Capt. Jody Meiman, an off-duty 13-year veteran who works at the Fire Academy and had read through the proposal, said "it looks pretty fair to me. I can't speak for others, but I would like to think everyone would want to move on."
The contract negotiations have been contentious: firefighters picketed at public events over the summer, such as Thunder Over Louisville and Mayor Jerry Abramson's budget presentation, holding signs and wearing T-shirts with slogans like: "We have gone from heroes to zeroes."
Twice firefighters rejected proposals agreed to by the administration and their union leadership. Then, over the summer, firefighters told administrators they would accept the last proposal they had rejected.
The administration responded that it was no longer on the table because it was too expensive. That's when firefighters began their public displays suggesting the city doesn't value their service.
Kerri Richardson, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said the latest round of negotiations had been under way for about two months before the agreement was reached.
"We are just glad there's an agreement on the table," Richardson said. "We'll be very happy to have this approved by firefighters and be able to move on."
Willman made presentations at three firehouses yesterday. He said the overall reaction was positive, although there was some grumbling about there not being increases for health insurance. None of the on-duty firefighters were permitted by the city to comment on what they heard.
Neither Willman, nor union Vice President James Wilkins, thought the health insurance issue would be a deal-killer.
"We're going to visit every firehouse on all three shifts to give everybody a chance to ask their questions," Wilkins said. "It should (pass). I know it will. It's a favorable contract."
One issue not dealt with in the contract is the way overtime pay is calculated.
That issue has been the subject of a lawsuit for years, with firefighters claiming the administration has underestimated their rate of overtime pay for more than 800 past and current firefighters since 2000.
"We left that up to the courts," Willman said, with Richardson confirming that the issue was not part of the bargaining.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the firefighters in August. The city has appealed that ruling to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Firefighters work shifts of 24 hours on duty and 48 hours off, or an average of 56 hours a week. That means all firefighters have overtime built into their schedules.
Firefighters claim their overtime was calculated on base pay alone, leaving out other income for training, longevity and bonuses, which would have driven up the cost to the city. Richardson has said if the ruling stands it could cost the city up to $60 million in back pay.
If the proposed contract is ratified, it will expire June 30, 2009. That means the union leadership would head back to the bargaining table to begin negotiating the next contract in June.