Flint Township View

Labor agreement settled with on-call firefighters





FLINT TWP. — After months of negotiating including mediation, the township has struck a tentative collective bargaining agreement with its On-call Firefighters Association.

Township board members voted 4-2 in favor of the contract which provides for a two percent raise for each year of the three-year contract. Trustees Belenda Parker and Barb Vert voted no, Clerk Kim Courts was absent.

Parker stated her usual concern about handing out raises in the wake of the township’s recent recovery from a revenue shortage. She said she had no problem with the agreement other than the raise increases. Vert did not comment but also has joined Parker in consistently voting against wage increases.

Terms of the new contract include: * Duration: The parties agree to a three-year agreement through December 31, 2018. *Wages: Wages shall be increased by 2% on January 1, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

*Holidays: Good Friday and the day after Thanksgiving shall also be recognized as holidays. *Training: A. On-call firefighters attending Department trainings shall be paid a minimum of2 hours. B. On-call firefighters may attend trainings outside of the Township upon prior approval from the Fire Chief C. If no Department vehicle is available for use for travel to trainings attended by on-call firefighters outside of the Township, and if a personal vehicle is used to attend such trainings, the on-call firefighter using a personal vehicle shall be reimbursed for mileage per the Township’s reimbursement policy. If attending training outside of the Township requires that an on-call firefighter have one or more meals during the training, the firefighter shall receive meal reimbursement per the Township policy

D. The training schedule shall be posted at least 45 days in advance. The Township reserves the right to modify the training schedule and shall provide notice of any such modification as soon as reasonably possible. A canceled training designated as “mandatory” on the training schedule shall not be rescheduled within that same calendar month, except in extenuating circumstances upon reasonable notice to firefighters. If an on-call firefighter is unable to attend a mandatory training that is rescheduled with less than 30 days’ notice, he or she will not be subject to discipline for absence from such training, but shall be required to makeup the mandatory training. E. Except as changed above, all current language in the current collective bargaining agreement shall be continued. Trustee Frank Kasle asked how much on-call firefighters will be paid and also for clarification on holiday pay. Township Supervisor Karyn Miller responded that the old rate of pay was about $17 before the two percent increase. She also said if they are called to work on a holiday they will receive holiday pay.

“They are only paid when they work,” she said.


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