New Hampshire’s Firefighters union is asking the legislature to give its members more bargaining power in future contract talks with cities and towns.
The union says it’s a matter of giving members rights at the bargaining table that have eroded over the years.
But some municipal officials say the measure would open the door to higher taxes.
New Hampshire Public Radio’s David Darman has more.
Perhaps no issue is more contentious in the measure backed by firefighters than one that deals with safety.
Firefighters say that some cities and towns try to rein in costs by skimping on safety equipment or staff.
David Lang is president of the New Hampshire chapter of the International Association of Firefighters, or I-A-F-F.
…You need firefighters to go in the front door. You need firefighters to make it to the third floor, in case of a fire. And you need enough of them to do the job right.
What firefighters want is for those personnel decisions to be a part of the collective bargaining process.
That means firefighters would be able to come to the table and make staffing levels a formal provision in the contract.
Maura Carroll is an attorney with the Municipal Association of New Hampshire.
She says her members oppose making the change.
It takes out of what has been management prerogative and sound judgment on their part about what it makes sense to do.
Another provision in the proposed legislation would mandate ’evergreen’ clauses a part of every contract.
Right now, they have to be carved out in individual negotiations.
These clauses typically kick in if a contract expires, and no new one takes its place.
With no contract and no clause, many employees miss out on raises during the negotiations process.
David Lang of the International Association of Firefighters says his members don’t think that’s fair.
So if you’re started as a starting employee at 12 dollars an hour. And you’re scheduled on the pay plan, after the completion of probation to move to 13 dollars an hour, you don’t get that extra dollar. So you’re frozen. So then at the end of the next year you’re supposed to move to 15 dollars at the end of your 3rd year. But you’re frozen in time.
Firefighters say the worst part of missing raises is they rarely get to recover the money when new contracts are finally settled.
But many town and municipal leaders argue taxpayers would have to pay for those out of contract raises.
And they say taxpayers should have to pay only for those raises they vote for when they approve the terms of actual contracts.
Maura Carroll of the New Hampshire Municipal Association also says if employees get raises beyond a contract’s end, negotiations will likely get longer.
I think there’s that potential because what it does, is it puts in the hands of the employee representative the advantage of time. So there may not be as much of an incentive to settle for a new contract especially if you’re in the middle of a recession.
David Owen, the town manager of Wolfeboro doesn’t completely agree.
He says it’s only fair to let the raises continue after a contract expires.
…And, and I’m kind of neutral as far as that goes. It doesn’t…it doesn’t…you know, I don’t see it as a great infringement on management rights or anything.
Another change to state law the firefighters want would lower the number of workers it takes to form a bargaining unit.
Right now state law requires a minimum of 10 workers to form a unit.
The measure would reduce that minimum by at least half.
Senator Betsy DeVries, a Democrat from Manchester is a retired firefighter, and was one of the measure’s three sponsors.
She says making a change in the bargaining unit size helps public safety employees in the state’s least populated places.
If you look at a small town that today has maybe two three full time firefighters eligible to get together and collectively bargain for their safety items. So I think it is important that the number be as small as, um, possible….
The state senate has already passed the measure making the changes the firefighters seek.
The bill is currently before a House Committee.
They’re scheduled to meet to discuss amending the measure next week.
