FDL City Council Approves Contract With Firefighters Union

The Fond du Lac City Council this week approved a 3-year agreement with Firefighters Local 400. Chad Wade handled negotiations for the City. He says in addition to the financial component the agreement incorporated public feedback during the department’s accreditation process and Lieutenant and Paramedic Lieutenant positions will be combined. The contract, which runs through 2018, gives 3 percent increases each of the first two years and a 3.25 percent increase in 2018. But those employees will also be making contributions to their health insurance. Wade says those employees will also be making a 3 percent contribution toward the Wisconsin Retirement System beginning January 1st of 2018. Councilman Gary Miller told Wade that a 9.25 percent increase in pay over three years sounds like a lot, but Wade says with the health insurance and WRS contributions the increase doesn’t amount to that much. He says it’s more like 6.25 percent. The agreement also creates a fire investigation team to safely investigate suspicious fires.