WARWICK, RI—The city's firefighters union voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night against the ratification of a contract proposal that Mayor Joseph J. Solomon had heralded as a major advancement for Warwick's finances.
As proposed, the two-year deal provided no raises and it also resolved other issues, including a pension overhaul program that was reversed in a recent arbitration proceeding, according to Solomon.
A group of 169 firefighters voted on the proposal, overwhelmingly rejected it and "voiced their concern," the president of the firefighters union, Michael Carreiro, said early Wednesday evening.
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"Frustration was shown," he said in a statement. "... It is our perspective that we are bearing the financial burden for the City's previous mistakes."
The firefighters are not storming away from the bargaining table; they hope to continue talks, Carreiro said.
"We would like to come to an agreement with the City that is fair, equitable, and fiscally responsible, both to our members as well as the taxpayers," Carreiro said.
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Prior to Wednesday's vote, Solomon estimated that the proposed contract with Local 2748 of the International Association of Fire Fighters would save the city about $2 million.
In a statement Thursday morning, Solomon said: "I am extremely disappointed with the decision of the majority of the rank-and-file not to approve the two-year, tentative agreement that was reached after many discussions between my administration and the union's executive board. Both parties negotiated in good faith in an effort to realize critically important cost savings for the taxpayers in these very challenging fiscal times, to correct mistakes of the past, and to forge a new, positive path forward for the department and the city."
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