City Of Manhattan Beach: Official City Council Statement

Press release from the City of Manhattan Beach:

04/14/2022 4:46 PM

Official Statement: Manhattan Beach City Council Statement Regarding MB Firefighters' Association Negotiations (PDF)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 14, 2022

STATEMENT FROM THE CITY COUNCIL REGARDING THE MANHATTAN BEACH FIRE ASSOCIATION NEGOTIATIONS

STATEMENT FROM THE CITY COUNCIL REGARDING THE MANHATTAN BEACH FIRE ASSOCIATION NEGOTIATIONS

The Manhattan Beach City Council and the Manhattan Beach Firefighters’ Association (MBFA) have been in negotiations for three years without a resolution. The MBFA is a labor association, akin to a union, that represents all non-management Manhattan Beach Fire employees, including Firefighter/Paramedics, Fire Engineer/Paramedics, and Fire Captain/Paramedics.

While this ongoing labor dispute is unfortunate, the City remains committed to public safety as its top priority. The contract terms extended to the MBFA establish consistent management practices among all City departments and reduce excessive overtime, in order to address Fire employee burnout and stress, and maintain the excellent fire services our community expects.

The City has issued its final offer, which includes a cost-of-living increase with the same percentage base salary increase as the other City associations/unions received for 2022 as part of their agreed-upon contracts. The City Council’s goals in the negotiations process are to:

To that end, the City’s offer addresses the following key areas:

Hiring additional staff Overtime Vacation approval Specialized fire prevention employees Align pay structure for future employees Longevity Pay: Paramedic Pay:

While the City has provided its final offer to the MBFA as part of its ongoing negotiations, Manhattan Beach City Council would like to assure the community that public safety remains the City’s top priority and it will not be negatively impacted. Per California Labor Code 1962, fire personnel do not have the right to strike. Manhattan Beach City Council remains committed to finalizing negotiations, as it has done with four of the six full-time employee associations/unions. Negotiations with the Fire Management Association, which represents the Fire Department Battalion Chiefs, are currently pending resolution.

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This press release was produced by the City of Manhattan Beach. The views expressed here are the author’s own.