The local firefighters’ union will sit down with the city of Tallahassee today for their 17th contract negotiation session. If no agreement is reached at this session, the firefighters are likely to declare an impasse and seek the assistance of an arbitrator.
Joey Davis is president of the local firefighters’ union. He says recruitment and retention are a problem for the Tallahassee Fire Department because pay and benefits are lower than in many other cities. But the city’s top fire officials say they’re hopeful they’ll reach a contract agreement soon.
Darron Ayscue works for Nassau County Fire Rescue and is a city commissioner in Fernandina Beach. He’s seen these negotiations from both sides and says the average contract takes far fewer bargaining sessions to resolve.
“Being on the union side, and I think the last contract that we negotiated, I think we had about 8 or 9 to do an entire contract,” Ayscue said. “Again, in most of the ones I’ve been involved in, 6 to 9 would probably be … 6 to 10 would be a normal meeting. At least for what we do.
Ayscue was in Tallahassee earlier this month when union firefighters marched on City Hall to protest the length of negotiations. He is urging both sides to come together.
“Recruitment and retention is a huge issue and it costs money for every single firefighter you lose and you have to bring someone else in,” he said. “That’s a cost that could be saved if you just kept that employee.”