Solomon Announces Tentative 2-Year Contract With Warwick Firefighters, Refuses to Provide Contract
GoLocalProv News Team
Solomon Announces Tentative 2-Year Contract With Warwick Firefighters, Refuses to Provide Contract
“This tentative agreement resolves a number of issues that have been brought to light since I took office as Mayor and would allow us to avoid costly arbitration. I thank the Union’s executive board for working with my administration to reach a proposal that is fair to the union membership while protecting the taxpayers’ interests. I am hopeful that this agreement will be ratified and that we can continue to forge a new way forward for the department and the City as a whole,” said Solomon.
The tentative agreement, which must be ratified by the rank-and-file and the City Council, spans from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2020.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBut, Solomon is refusing to provide a copy of the agreement to GoLocalProv.
"The agreement right now is between the Mayor and the Firefighters’ Union leadership— if the rank and file approves it, it will go before the City Council. At that time, we’d be able to supply you with a copy that clearly shows, under our new policies, changes and/or additions to the contract reflected by either red lines or strikes," said Solomon's spokesperson Courtney Marciano.
Solomon claims that agreement, if ratified, will save well in excess of $2 million.
The New Contract
The contract would implement Tier II pension reform, includes no salary increases for the life of the agreement and resolves issues related to sick and vacation time payments.
The contract addresses several issues relative to the calculation of the payout of unused sick time, vacation time and pension reform.
A “side agreement,” regarding sick time payouts, entered into by former union president Lloyd and former fire chief Armstrong, took effect in 2013 without Council approval.
This language within the side agreement was subsequently not included in the most current contract, which spanned from July 2015 to June 2018 under the Avedisian administration.
The practice was rescinded immediately after the agreement was brought to Solomon’s attention, and the union subsequently filed a grievance.
The tentative agreement rescinds, effective July 1, 2019, the payment method established by the “side agreement.”
A second issue related to the payout of unused vacation time is also resolved in the tentative agreement, Solomon said. When ratifying terms of the 2015-2018 contract, the City Council was presented with language that set the payment for “banked” vacation days at 1/5 of the employee’s weekly pay; however, language that made its way into the final collective bargaining agreement set that rate at 1/4.
The new agreement restores the 1/5 calculation.
The third issue that the tentative agreement would resolve relates to pension reform. In 2011, the City Council passed legislation that would have affected firefighters hired on or after July 1, 2012.
They would have been placed in a “Tier II” pension group. This group would have to work five more years to earn a 50 percent pension, with a pension percentage reduced by 3 to 4 percent. It also capped disability pensions and reduced the maximum pension benefit.
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