MANSFIELD, CT — Mansfield town council members have approved a new four-year agreement with the firefighters union.
Members of the union, IAFF, approved the final collective bargaining agreement last month.
Council members approved the agreement by a vote of 9-0 during their late-September meeting.
“I just want to say that this is a good proposal for the town,” Mansfield Interim Town Manager John Carrington said.
The contract runs from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2022, but is effective and retroactive to July 1, 2019.
Mansfield Fire Department Chief Francis Raiola said the firefighters did not receive a raise in the first year of the contract.
“The way the contract is written, while negotiations are ongoing, the existing contract is in effect,” he said.
When fully staffed, the union represents 14 full-time firefighters/ emergency medical technicians and approximately eight to 12 parttime firefighters/EMTs.
“I think the contract cleans up a lot of things that have been issues for a long time,” Raiola said.
He said, currently, there are 14 full- time firefighters and 10 part- time firefighters.
Council members approved two full- time firefighter positions to be included in the 2019- 20 budget, effective Jan. 1, 2020.
“Our firefighters work a 42-hour work schedule and they’ve been doing that 15, 20 years,” Raiola said.
Each firefighter in the union will work for 24 hours in a row and then have 72 hours off under the new agreement.
Currently, Mansfield firefighters work 12 hours in a row.
“Those night shifts are tough on folks,” he said.
Raiola said it is common for firefighters to work 24 hours straight.
He said the schedule will allow Mansfield firefighters more nights sleeping at home, rather than at the station.
Councilman William Kaufold said, as a physician, he has worked both 24-hour and 36-hour shifts.
“It wears on you,” he said. “I’ve driven home after a full shift and not remembered how I got home because I was up all night.”
Another change that was made to the agreement was union members will now have 60 hours of holiday pay per year, rather than 120.
The new agreement also involves several wage increases.
According to a Sept. 23 memorandum from Carrington, the estimated impact of the general wage increase is an increase of $48,688, or $60,753 when payroll and pension taxes are factored in for the term of the contract.
Retroactive to July 1, all bargaining unit classifications and positions will have an additional wage scale step added at 1 percent over the top step of the scale and will have a 1 percent general wage increase.
Wage increases in the contract range from 1 percent to 1.25 percent, depending on the year.
The increases apply to all classifications and salary scale steps.
The hourly rates for captains ranges from $ 33.08 to $ 36.13, retroactive to July 1, 2019, and increases to between $34.94 and $38.16 by Jan. 1, 2022, depending on the year and the step the captain is at.
The general firefighter hourly rate ranges from $29.27 to $32.12, retroactive to July 1, 2019, and increases to between $30.92 and $33.92 on Jan. 1, 2022, depending on the year and the step the firefighter is at.
The health insurance changes entail an increase of $ 34,098 for the term of the contract, according to Carrington.
Under the agreement, the town will fund the following amounts toward the annual deductible for health insurance: In January 2020, the town will fund 100 percent of the $ 2,000 or $ 4,000 deductible based on the employee’s level of coverage in one payment; in January 2021, the town will fund 80 percent; and in January 2022, the town will fund 60 percent.
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