Syracuse’s roughly 350 firefighters have been awarded a contract, though it’s the result of two years of acrimonious negotiations that ended up in court.
To top it off, the deal is only retroactive for 2013 and 2014. The last collective bargaining agreement between the city and the Syracuse Firefighters Association Local 280 expired at the end of 2012. This contract came only after they pursued what’s called interest arbitration where a neutral party made the final decision, said Union President Paul Motondo.
“We all would’ve preferred to have a negotiated settlement instead of a settlement that’s binding and put upon both parties. In December, we got to that point – the city presented their case, we presented our case, and this is the result of it.”
That settlement includes 2 percent wage raises for 2013 and 2014, a stipend for those with a certain level of EMS certification and an increase in the night shift pay. But firefighters are also required to pay 75 percent more for health care premiums. The union was reluctant to concede too much because they took a hit to their ranks last time, Motondo said.
“We were the leader back in ‘11 and ’12, and we contributed the most to health care at that point. And we felt we’ve done so much for the city. And when we got into these negotiations, and so much was being asked of us once again, we felt that we were going to stand our ground a little bit,” he said.
Now the union and city are ready to start the negotiation process all over again to negotiate a new, current contract. He hopes after the last round of difficult talks, they can start with a clean slate, Motondo said.
“We can’t hold animosity. We need to move forward. We need to look at the big picture. We need to build from this point, and get another collective bargain and agreement in place. We don’t want to go through the interest arbitration process, and I don’t think the city does. But if it’s needed, then we will do that.”
Mayor Stephanie Miner was not pleased when the union chose to pursue interest arbitration, Motondo said, adding that she’s lobbied to change New York labor law to remove all arbitration from the negotiation process. But he says the process is fair because neither side is typically satisfied with the final decision.
