San Antonio's firefighters union stopped contract talks Tuesday and is calling for arbitration, KENS-TV reports.
The city and San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, Local 624, have been without a contract since 2014. Negotiations started in February, and both sides met nearly 20 times to try to work out a deal. Mediation talks have been ongoing since April.
"Despite hundreds of hours of combined effort, the parties remain far apart on the two primary concerns for San Antonio firefighters: firefighter healthcare for each member and their families and firefighter wages that have remained flat and stagnant for the last five years," stated a letter from Ricky Poole, the union's lawyer, according to KSAT-TV.
The union made its request through Proposition C, which was passed by voters in November. Under the measure, the city must take part in binding arbitration with the union if an impasse is reached.
Now that an arbitration request has been made, an arbitrator will be assigned by both parties. The union and the city also will work with an independent, third-party arbitrator to reach a deal, KSAT added.
"The Firefighter’s Union elected to pursue arbitration—we will prepare for that process," the city said in a statement, according to KENS. "We remain committed to reaching a collective bargaining agreement that is fair to our employees and fiscally responsible for our taxpayers.”
