Firefighters, Amherst ink new contract

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on February 05, 2010

Town officials and the union representing the firefighters have a tentative agreement on a new contract, more than two years after the current contract expired.

Town Manager Larry Shaffer said the fire union, Amherst Firefighters Local 1764, is expected to vote Feb. 10 on a contract that would replace the one that ended July 1, 2007.

Firefighters have been working under the terms of that contract since.

Stephen Gaughan, president of the union, said that the proposed contract does not have comparable cost-of-living adjustments to what other unions, including teachers, police, Department of Public Works and Service Employee International, received. All of those unions had 10 percent COLAs built in over a three- or four-year period.

But Gaughan said he is comfortable bringing forward a contract that includes wage increases and settles other outstanding issues that he wouldn't specify.

"In general, it's a contract that, given the fiscal times that we see, is fair to the town and our employees," Gaughan said.

Shaffer said he has previously had two tentative agreements, both of which were rejected by vote of the union, including most recently in July. "What do they say, ‘Three is the charm?'" Shaffer said.

Gaughan said it will be up to the 43 members of the union to decide if the contract is acceptable. The contract comes at a good time since the union is expecting the town's new fire chief, Walter "Tim" Nelson, to be officially hired in the next few weeks.

If the contract is ratified, Shaffer said negotiations would soon begin on the next contract with the union.

Meanwhile, Gaughan said he appreciates the respect Shaffer has shown to the union during the crafting of next year's municipal budget plan. Though two firefighter positions, at a cost of $162,799 for salary and benefits, are on the proposed list to be cut, they are the first that will be restored if state aid comes in at a higher level than anticipated or if a Proposition 21/2 tax cap override is approved by voters. In addition, $6,000 in training and $2,000 for protective clothing would be restored immediately.

With 5,311 fire and ambulance calls last year, the department is staffed to a minimum of seven firefighters per shift, Gaughan said. Interim Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren has made sure that nine firefighters are on duty each weekend until May, which is peak volume for activity in town, at UMass and on the college campuses, Gaughan said.

The contract could also settle unfair labor practice grievances that the union has filed with the state's Division of Labor Relations. These include that the town's calculation of health insurance benefits was instituted unilaterally without bargaining with union, and that the town implemented changes in the plan design for health insurance for certain firefighters.