The local firefighters’ union will sit down with the City of Tallahassee today for their 17th contract negotiating session. If this session fails to strike a deal, the firefighters will likely call an impasse and move to bring in an arbitrator.
Joey Davis is president of the local firefighters’ union. He says recruitment and retention are a problem for the Tallahassee Fire Department because the pay is lower and benefits fewer than many other cities. But top city fire officials say they’re hopeful they’ll agree on a contract soon.
Darron Ayscue works for Nassau County Fire Rescue and is a City of Fernandina Beach commissioner. He’s seen these negotiations from both sides and says the average contract takes much fewer negotiating sessions to resolve.
“Being on the union side, and I believe the last contract that we negotiated, I think that we were at about 8 or 9 to do an entire contract," Ayscue said. "Again, in most of the ones that I have been a part of, anywhere from 6 to 9 would probably be … 6 to 10 would be a normal session. At least for what we do.”
Ayscue was in Tallahassee earlier this month when union firefighters marched on City Hall to protest the length of the negotiations. He urges the two sides to come together.
“Recruitment and retainment are a huge issue, and it costs money for every single firefighter that you lose, and you have to bring somebody else in," he said. "That’s a cost that could be saved if you would just retain that employee.”
