SACRAMENTO, Calif. --
Sacramento's firefighters have accepted a deal with the city, saving 68 jobs just in time for the busy Fourth of July weekend.
According to firefighters union Local 522, the firefighters will cut their own pay by 5 percent for 30 months in exchange for layoff protection.
The deal won approval from about 70 percent of the union's rank-and-file membership.
"They've sacrificed in a real way," Sacramento Mayor Johnson said Friday. "I'm very thankful to 522 that we were able to preserve jobs."
Negotiations between the union and the city had been contentious at times.
Both sides fought pretty hard for what they believe in. As the deadline approached us for these lay offs it was incumbent on us to come back to the table with something that was more appealing for the City Council," Local 522 spokesman Chris Harvey said earlier in the week.
The city quickly approved the deal in a closed-session meeting Wednesday, and the union held an emergency vote to pass it.
