Manchester NH Firefighters City Fail to Reach Deal

March 28 — City firefighters say a mediation session held Tuesday with Manchester aldermen failed to yield any resolution to a nearly year-long contract impasse.

The session, held at the Manchester Downtown Hotel (formerly the Radisson), included representatives from the Manchester Professional Fire Fighters Assn. (MPFFA), IAFF Local 856; the Manchester Association of Fire Supervisors (MAFS), IAFF 3820; and city aldermen. It lasted through the afternoon and into the night on Tuesday.

A source with knowledge of the negotiations said several different contract proposals were presented by both sides, but the session wrapped up Tuesday night without an agreement. Both sides agreed to meet again and continue the mediation on April 10.

More than 100 members of both firefighter unions held an informational picket outside the Manchester Downtown Hotel while the negotiations were taking place inside. A second round of picketing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 3, outside City Hall before the next meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

“They marched proudly and respectfully in support of reaching an overdue contract resolution.” said MPFFA President Jeff Duval. “We still have some work to do.”

MAFS President Jim Michael said he was glad both sides were back at the table.

“The only way we will ever get a resolution is if we keep working and I’m glad to know that we will continue with the process soon,” he said.

“I appreciate the time a committee of six Aldermen and representatives of firefighters and supervisors are spending negotiating to reach consensus,” said Mayor Joyce Craig in a statement. “I’m hopeful negotiations will continue in good faith and will lead to a resolution that is fair to our firefighters and taxpayers.”

Manchester firefighter Michael McGaffigan marches with his son, Michael, 9, outside the Manchester Downtown Hotel on Tuesday as mediation was going on inside the hotel for stalled contract talks between the two firefighter unions and City Hall. (DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER)

City firefighters and fire supervisors unions began negotiating new contracts with the city in June 2016. Initially, discussions centered around a multi-year contract, but the parties agreed upon a one-year contract extension that included a 1 percent salary increase and continued merit and longevity steps for fiscal year 2017. The unions declared an impasse in January, and a mediation session held in March failed to produce a new agreement.

A fact-finding hearing was held in April, with attorney Gary Altman serving as fact-finder. In his report, Altman recommended both firefighter unions receive 3 percent salary increases on July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018. The report also found members of both unions should be paid an additional $40 per week effective last July 1—and $50 per week on July 1, 2018—in hazard pay, “in recognition of the increasingly hazardous working conditions” in Manchester.

Members of Local 856 and the Manchester Association of Fire Supervisors, IAFF Local 3820 voted to adopt the fact finders report.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) voted last June to approve the report, 7-6, but former mayor Ted Gatsas blocked the vote with a veto, saying the two-year price tag of the recommendations made in the report—totaling more than $4 million—would lead to future job losses.

City aldermen approved a three-year contract with the Manchester Police Patrolman’s Association, then voted to override Gatsas’ veto of the new deal, in September 2016. The police contract contained several new sections including “critical incident,” or hazardous duty pay. According to the contract each sworn officer and animal control officer receives an additional $50 a week in hazardous duty pay effective Jan. 1, 2018.

“We are hoping that this Board of Mayor and Alderman will treat the fire side of public safety the same as the police side,” said Duval.

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