City, Santa Rosa Firefighters At Impasse In Contract Negotiations

SANTA ROSA, CA — The city of Santa Rosa declared an impasse Wednesday in its contract negotiations with its firefighters union. Mayor Chris Coursey said the city and the union met 21 times since March 29, 2017, but could not reach an agreement. The city offered a two-year package of over 7 percent in increased pay that includes cost of living adjustments, additional pay premiums and a cash bonus, Coursey said.

"We believe the package is fair and in line with contract agreements reached with our other labor unions, including the police union which last year agreed to a contract virtually identical to the one offered to the fire union," Coursey said in a statement.

City officials said the average total compensation to a Santa Rosa firefighter is more than $235,000 a year, and the city regards that package competitive.

The city said it has offered to mediate with the firefighters union and the union could force arbitration under the city's charter that provides for binding arbitration before a third party.

"We understand that the union can force us into a costly arbitration but we really have no other reasonable choice but to maintain our position and hope a neutral arbitrator will side with us based on the overwhelming evidence of fiscal uncertainty facing our city," Coursey said.

Tim Aboudara, Santa Rosa Firefighters' IAFF Local 1401 president, said he was surprised and disappointed the city declared an impasse and walked away from negotiations. He said the union has been bargaining in good faith and presented a comprehensive package Tuesday.

Aboudara also said he is surprised the city included specific terms of the negotiations in its news release. He said the $235,000 average total compensation figure cited by the city is misleading, inflammatory and does not reflect a firefighter's salary.

Aboudara said that's the cost, including health care expenses, to the city to employ a Santa Rosa firefighter.

For the past 21 years, the evaluation of future firefighter contracts has been indexed to similar fire departments in the region, not to police departments, Aboudara said.

"It doesn't line up with what we do historically. The needs are different. We use comparable firefighting units," Aboudara said.

He said the Santa Rosa Fire Department wants to be the median, not the highest or lowest department in the region regarding compensation.

Aboudara said the impasse is not the end of the process.

"We'll be talking about mediation, arbitration dispute resolution and a multiple-year contract," he said.

The firefighters' one-year contract expired June 17, 2017.

By Bay City News Service

Photo credit: mat277/Shutterstock.com