"This is a good example of collective bargaining and how it's supposed to work, and how it's a good tool to be successful in fixing a lot of complicated issues," Trevor Towey, president of Local 385, said Wednesday.
ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD
Assistant Fire Chief Jason Bradley speaks after a tentative 4-year contract agreement is reached with the city and Omaha Firefighters Local 385. Photographed at the mayor's office in Omaha on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. The agreement includes a 15% wage increase over the life of the contract.
ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD
Mayor Jean Stothert speaks after a tentative 4-year contract agreement is reached with Omaha Firefighters Local 385. The agreement includes a 15% wage increase over the life of the contract. Photographed at the mayor's office in Omaha on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
The Omaha fire union and the City of Omaha reached a tentative deal for a new contract that includes wage increases, staffing adjustments and an increase in survivor benefits.
Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and Local 385 President Trevor Towey announced the agreement on a four-year contract Wednesday. It is yet to be voted on by union members. Eventually, it would go to the city’s Personnel Board and the Omaha City Council for approval.
The agreement includes a wage increase in each of the next four years. Wages would increase 5% in 2024, 4% in 2025 and 3% in 2026 and 2027. The beginning salary for firefighters who have completed their probationary period would go from $64,646 in 2023 to $67,878 in 2024.
The fire union’s previous contract expired at the end of 2023. The new contract would be retroactive.
“This is a good example of collective bargaining and how it’s supposed to work, and how it’s a good tool to be successful in fixing a lot of complicated issues ... that are important to Omaha and are important to Omaha firefighters,” Towey said.
Stothert thanked the union leaders “for working with us on this agreement that benefits everyone.”
The proposed contract would increase the so-called widow’s benefit to firefighters’ survivors to 90% of the pension benefit of firefighters hired after 2013. Previously, the benefit was only 50% for those hired after 2013. Under the new contract, it would be the same for all firefighters’ survivors.
The city and the employees will increase their pension contributions in equal amounts to pay for the additional cost.
“This is the right thing to do to care for our firefighters’ families,” Stothert said.
The benefit was one of the union’s top priorities.
The change “shows Omaha’s commitment,” Towey said. “And it’s a big step forward into addressing some areas of the contract that previously had fallen short.”
Towey said the agreement “provides fair compensation, corrects critical retirement benefits, and addresses the increasing workload of Omaha paramedics and firefighters.”
He thanked Stothert and she thanked him.
“We will continue our high level of fire protection and emergency response for our citizens, generously compensate our sworn firefighters and protect their families, and give the fire chief flexibility to make staffing decisions,” Stothert said.
Staffing changes would give the Fire Department more flexibility in staffing ambulances and firetrucks.
“We wanted to be able to provide a way and develop a plan to better utilize all of our firefighters and paramedics, and to distribute that workload amongst all members,” Towey said.
He said the new agreement will do that without jeopardizing response times or the safety of firefighters and citizens.
The contract would allow for more three-person firetrucks, as opposed to the usually required four-person-per-truck minimum, under certain conditions — provided the city maintains 95% percent of budgeted positions.
The current contract allows the Fire Department to staff three firetrucks, out of a total of about 30, per day with only three firefighters. If the department can’t staff the rest of the trucks with four firefighters each, then it has to take a truck out of service.
The new agreement generally keeps the requirement the department can only have three rigs per day running with only three firefighters.
“But if we get to that point where you’ve called everybody, and nobody can come into work, we’ll allow you to to run an additional, or additional rigs short that day,” Towey said.
Rather than take a firetruck out of service, the department can run it with only three firefighters on it. That allows Fire Department management to keep rigs in service to ensure firetrucks are available to respond to all areas of the city, Stothert said.
But the city could only run more than three trucks short-staffed 12 times each year. Setting that limit gives the city further incentive to ensure it’s hiring enough people to address staffing requirements, Towey said.
Currently the city’s budget-authorized strength is 669 firefighters — and the city has 661, Stothert said.
She said a 32-person recruit class graduated in February and is currently completing field training. Another recruit class is planned this year, Stothert said.
The contract would also allow greater use of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) on ambulance crews to increase staffing flexibility and combat burnout of paramedics.
“Our paramedics are the busiest in the department,” Assistant Fire Chief Jason Bradley said. “Eighty-five percent of our calls are medical calls.”
Using more EMTs on medic units will give paramedics a break.
About 260 of the department’s firefighters are paramedics. That works out to about 85 per shift, but some have other assignments, such as driving firetrucks.
“The problem comes when we need paramedics to fill in for vacancies,” Towey said. “We end up burning people out; they’re working every day on an ambulance.”
The new agreement would allow the department to staff four ambulances per day with only one paramedic, and the rest of the crew EMTs. The current contract allows that, but only under very limited circumstances. The new agreement would remove those limitations.
That would allow increased training opportunities and expand the pool of personally working on medic units, Stothert said. Salaries for lead paramedics will also increase, she said.
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of March 2024
Trevor Towey, president of Omaha Firefighters Local 385, speaks Wednesday about the tentative four-year contract agreement reached by the city and the fire union. Behind him is Mayor Jean Stothert and Assistant Fire Chief Jason Bradley.
"This is a good example of collective bargaining and how it's supposed to work, and how it's a good tool to be successful in fixing a lot of complicated issues," Trevor Towey, president of Local 385, said Wednesday.
Mayor Jean Stothert speaks with Trevor Towey, left, the Omaha Firefighters Local 385 president, and Assistant Fire Chief Jason Bradley behind her, after a tentative 4-year contract agreement is reached with Omaha Firefighters Local 385. Photographed at the mayor's office in Omaha on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. The agreement includes a 15% wage increase over the life of the contract.
Assistant Fire Chief Jason Bradley speaks after a tentative 4-year contract agreement is reached with the city and Omaha Firefighters Local 385. Photographed at the mayor's office in Omaha on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. The agreement includes a 15% wage increase over the life of the contract.
Mayor Jean Stothert speaks after a tentative 4-year contract agreement is reached with Omaha Firefighters Local 385. The agreement includes a 15% wage increase over the life of the contract. Photographed at the mayor's office in Omaha on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.