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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 410-08
October 16, 2008

MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES TENTATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE UNIFORMED FIREFIGHTERS' ASSOCIATION

New Agreement Maintains Parity with Police Officer Pay

Nearly 10% Compensation Increase Covers Almost 9,000 UFA Members

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Uniformed Firefighters' Association (UFA) President Steve Cassidy today announced a tentative agreement has been reached on a new collective bargaining agreement covering the period from August 1, 2008 through July 31, 2010. The agreement, which is subject to ratification, covers nearly 9,000 Firefighters, Fire Marshals and Wipers.

"Having the most sophisticated, well trained and dedicated fire department in the world is another reason New Yorkers feel safe in this city," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The members of the UFA put themselves on the line every day and are doing more than ever before, all while achieving all-time lows in fire response times."

"We are pleased to have gained not only an 8.16 percent raise for New York City Firefighters, but also a nearly 3.5 percent retroactive raise dating back to 2006," said UFA President Cassidy. "This agreement better compensates firefighters for the dangerous and difficult job they do for all New Yorkers. Although the City could never afford to pay firefighters what they truly deserve, this is another step in the right direction. I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioner Hanley and his staff, and the entire UFA Executive Board for having the resolve to get this done."

The new agreement maintains the historical parity relationship between the compensation of Police Officers and firefighters that has been in existence since New York City was incorporated. The City reached a new agreement with the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA) in August.

The principal features of the 2008-2010 portion of the settlement, including compensation increases of 9.75 percent during the contract, are as follows:

  • 4% wage increase effective August 1, 2008
  • 4% wage increase, compounded, effective August 1, 2009
  • 1.59% increase in additional compensation funds

At the end of this contract, a Firefighter's basic maximum salary will be $76,488.

The agreement also contains a "re-opener" to the 2002-2006 contract, which provides increases in the basic maximum salaries for Firefighter, Fire Marshal and Wiper that match the wage increases provided to PBA members over the same time period. The re-opener provision was triggered on May 22, 2008, when a Public Arbitration Panel issued an award in the PBA arbitration. The UFA provided the necessary funding for these wage increases in part through a reduction of two paid holidays for all employees and an annuity reduction of $494.00 per year for those Firefighters hired prior to April 1, 2007.

Longevity Schedule
Effective July 31, 2010, the longevity schedule will be increased by future wage increases. Additionally, the longevity schedule will be increased by $253.00 at each step.

Off-line Holiday Pay
Effective September 1, 2009, all members working "off the line," who have a work schedule that provides for a regular day off (RDO) during the workweek will forego the RDO during weeks with holidays.

Other Provisions
In this agreement, the union applied available funding to restore the "holiday" and "annuity" reductions that were part of the 2002-2006 contract re-opener.

The Mayor thanked Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, UFA President Steve Cassidy and his Executive Board, Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley and First Deputy Commissioner Margaret Connor and their team, and Budget Director Mark Page and his staff for their efforts in reaching this agreement.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser/Marc La Vorgna   (212) 788-2958

Francis X. Gribbon   (Fire Department)
(718) 999-2025




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