Concord Fire Officers union out of contract since July, negotiations ongoing

Concord Deputy Police Chief John Thomas testifies before the City Council. —Courtesy
Published: 12-16-2024 9:53 AM
Modified: 12-16-2024 10:36 AM |
Jim Duckworth remembers lining up with over 600 people who were vying for just over a dozen positions at the Concord Fire Department. Today, if the department gets seven to 10 applicants for an open position, that’s a good day.
Nearly 25 years later, recruitment and retention are common topics of conversation at police and fire departments statewide, especially in smaller communities. In Concord, Duckworth and his fellow firefighters have watched police receive rounds of bonuses to help address staffing levels while fire department members were told no to similar requests.
“That’s hard to watch when they’re given the green light,” said Duckworth, the president IAFF Local 3195, the local fire officers union. “Concord police, just like Concord fire work enormously hard and deserve whatever they can to try and keep retention.”
At Concord City Council’s December meeting, the police department received a second round of retention bonuses – just over $400,000 to reward current sworn staff. In the front row of the council chambers, members of the fire officers union sat quietly with signs.
“Concord Fire Officers deserve respect, parity, support.”
On July 1, the three-year collective bargaining agreement between the city and the fire officer union – which represents captains, battalion chiefs and lieutenants – lapsed.
In a typical negotiation, Duckworth said the city makes an offer, and more often than not, the union takes it. This year, they came back with a few requests.
“This was the first time in a long time we said, ‘Well we’re just not going to take that offer,” he said. “We would like to get some of the same things that our brother and sister organizations are getting.”
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Within those requests are retention bonuses.
While the city and union representatives remain in the midst of negotiations, fire officers have remained on the job, said Duckworth.
“They still turn out, they still go to work. They still do all the things that you would ask,” he said. “For people looking from the outside, I would imagine they haven't seen any change. But for the morale of the fire officers, it's been catastrophic.”
Earlier this fall, a class action lawsuit was filed to retroactively compensate police and firefighters who were impacted by changes to the state pension formula from 2011.
Prior to the changes these “Type II” employees could retire after 20 years and pensions were calculated based on their three years of highest earnings. Now, employees must work longer before becoming eligible for a pension.
Although a decade has passed, Duckworth thinks that change led to the decline in police officers and fire department staff statewide.
“You had a pension that would take care of you. That’s not the case anymore,” he said. “This is all we have. So it’s one of those things that we really feel like the city needs to invest more in their fire officers.”
To Duckworth, the need to support current staff, and attract new recruits is immediate.
He remembers when Concord was a “destination department” – staff would join and stay through retirement. Now, he’s watched it become a stepping stone, with new hires leaving after a short period for higher pay in Manchester, Nashua or Dover.
Aside from retention bonuses, other cities have also adjusted their pay schedules. In Concord, fire officers operate on a 16-step program, at which employees can earn top pay. In Nashua and Manchester, smaller steps mean employees get to top-of-scale over a shorter period of time.
“We can’t compete with that,” he said. “We’re no longer keeping up with the times and that change in the pension system has really made people far more careful in where they pick to go.”
At the same time, calls for service are ballooning, he said.
“The workload is much higher and the acuity is much higher. We’re getting sicker people and having to deal with a lot more issues,” he said.
He also fears as the city looks to increase its housing stock that investments in emergency services won’t go hand in hand.
Through negotiations, a fact-finding process will provide for a third-party perspective on both sides positions. After that, Duckworth hopes that the city will come back to the table with a solution.
“It’s time to really start to negotiate rather than just tell us what we deserve,” he said. “It’s something that I know the community supports. We’re watching it with the police officers, and I know the community supports that as well. We’re just asking to also be recognized at the same time.”
Michaela Towfighi can be reached at mtowfighi@cmonitor.com.