“The city and the union were able to meet several times to openly discuss concerns, identify ways to improve and address needs,” according to Sanders. “Mutually, we identified a need to attract and retain high-quality fire and EMS professionals. The contract we settled on is fair and reasonable for both the members of Local 333 and the citizens of Springfield.”
Sanders noted the agreement is somewhat non-traditional in that the percentage of wage increase firefighters will receive is not a flat rate, but is scaled in accordance to length of service with the city and levels of training and certification.
“For a time we hired only paramedics for the fire division but found ourselves in competition with all other fire and EMS departments in the region for a small pool of qualifying candidates,” Sanders said. “We have transitioned back to our former requirements of a high school diploma, valid driver’s license, clean drug-test and interview to qualify and enable candidates to take the civil service exam.”
As a result the city has increased the number of applicants but now needs to provide more training than previously to enable firefighters to obtain Emergency Medical Technician status and then become paramedics, which can take more time.
“We are fortunate that all of our fire trucks are exclusively staffed with Advance Life Support coverage,” said Sanders. “We sometimes have one paramedic and one EMT on board. The difference in training and responsibilities between the two required us to find a way to adjust wages accordingly.”
The city assured firefighters of continued health insurance coverage and retirement benefits at the same level as the last contract period.
Sanders noted a customary adjustment was included to address increased uniform costs.
“Just as it’s more expensive now to buy a new fire truck, uniforms are more expensive. The contract remains flat on the cost for those this year, but there is a slight increase to address that in the next year,” he said. “It is comparable to the terms of the police division agreement.”
Sanders believes the new pact will be helpful for recruitment and retention, which has been a concern in recent years.
Terms of the contract are retroactive to the expiration date of the last contract and the new agreement runs through June of 2026.
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