St. Clair Shoes Firefighters Get New Contract

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Attracting and retaining firefighters may have just gotten a little easier for St. Clair Shores. City council recently approved a brand new three-year contract that will raise firefighter salaries by a total of six percent and jump the pension multiplier by a quarter point.

The new contract starts on July 1. Firefighters will get a two percent raise this year and another two percent in 2018 and 2019. The pension multiplier, meanwhile, will rise to 2.25 for the first 25 years of service. City officials negotiated with the International Association of Firefighters Local 1744 to reach the new deal.

City Manager Mike Smith told council that St. Clair Shores previous 2.0 pension multiplier was the lowest among nine comparable cities. He said it made it difficult to compete for new firefighters, according to a report in the St. Clair Shores Sentinel.

“This is a competitive occupation, as far as hiring folks,” Smith told the newspaper. He characterized negotiations with the union as amicable. “They came early on, we sat down and as negotiations go, there were some requests on both sides of the table (and) I think their demands and the overall contract was very reasonable.”

The city manager said the new contract will move St. Clair Shores to a more competitive position in terms of compensation and the pension multiplier. Mayor Kip Walby is glad to have the new agreement in place.

“I think we made a lot of strides at the last (contract),” he told the Sentinel newspaper. “We made strides and I think those are carried forward, and it was a lot better and we work well together.”

Firefighters Union President Chad Hyvonen was also glad to get the deal done, but hopes for a little better contract next time.

“We try to remain competitive with our counterparts,” he told the newspaper. “Right now, we’re right in the middle to the lower end of the spectrum. As the city starts to garner additional tax revenue ... we should be able to make strides in the future.”

Photo by Lee Cannon via Flickr Commons