Michigan Association of Fire Fighters

CONTRACT

“They made a transition from paid-on-call to part-time firefighters and EMT’s. They’re no longer an on-call department,” said MAFF Labor Relations Specialist Jim Steffes. “They actually have a fixed schedule. Now they can actually work a 24-hour shift. If they seek employment as full-time, they receive up to 10 points when they apply for a full-time firefighter position (on their employment testing). Whatever your combined score comes out to be, you would get up to 10 additional points, so folks from the outside would have to be at least 10 points better than you on the written test and oral interviews. It’s a three year deal, but they were able to get retro (pay) back to July 1 and the guys were happy with that.”

“The Fire Chief didn’t want anything to go into effect until the department was ready to go part-time,” said Washington Township Part-time Fire Fighters Local Union President Eric Guty. “We are filling all gaps from full-time, whether it be sick or vacation time. We do have six new part-time fire fighters and they’re working on hiring some more. (The Chief) was just waiting for the contract to get ratified before he brought them aboard.”

Contract Duration: 2-1/2 year agreement ratified Feb. 10, 2017 and effective 7-1-16 to 12-31-18.
Wage Increases:
2.5% increase effective April 1, 2017.
2.5% increase effective April 1, 2018.

  • .50 cents an hour increase effective on ratification of contract.
  • $700 of retroactive pay for each employee, based on making the contract retroactive to July 1, 2016, since the previous contract expired April 28, 2016.

Change in Classification: Formerly POC fire fighters and EMT’s are now classified as part-time with regularly scheduled shifts up to 24 hours. The unit recently added six new members for a total of 13 who are now classified part-time.
Fringe Benefits: Part-timers receive preference for full-time positions by being given additional points toward their written and oral testing, from one to ten points based on years of service. Added step in grievance procedure to go to mediation before arbitration. Increase of $50 in duty uniform expenses, now $350 annually.
Bargaining Team: MAFF Labor Relations Specialist Jim Steffes and Washington Township Part-time Fire Fighters Local Union President Eric Guty.