Fire Division Annual Report 2008

Contract Fights

New Lenox

Since April of 2007, our firefighters at New Lenox have been working for a first contract. Management has taken away all shift work, and placed everyone on call.  These actions were not negotiated before being put into practice. We have Unfair Labor Practices pending and have rallied numerous times throughout 2008. As of this printing, we are moving towards reaching a settlement that is fair to our members.

Argonne National 

Laboratories

Our firefighters in Argonne are trying to negotiate for their first contract, but have been facing many difficulties in the process. We've even been barred from entering the facicilty to see our members! Since Janurary  2007, we have been at the bargaining table, but there are many issues that are still open. We are brainstorming ideas for possible actions in the future. 

Employee Representation and Bargaining

Westchester

Our members agreed to 4% increases to each step for the four year term. We also established a longevity bonus as a ten year pay grade adjusted accordingly for the previous years. We made sure that all discipline must be taken to grievance arbitration. We cleaned up the vacation selection procedure, and modified the employee contribution. 

Earlier this year, the employer withheld a portion of the retro pay, saying that they interpreted the contract differently than we did. We filed a grievance over the longevity step in question and reached an agreement that compensates our members properly. 

Wilmette

We maintained parity with our police counterparts in Wilmette by increasing the step pay to all our members. In addition, we also negotiated annual percentage raises. Our top step firefighter/paramedic enjoyed an increase of $4,533, and those at step six were given $4,113 in the agreement's first year. Currently, we have filed a grievance because the shift change management instituted does not follow the terms of the contract. 

Carpentersville

Our members in Carpentersville are both full-time and part-time members. With the enactment of the Firefighters' Substitutes Act, negotiations were mandated to allow an employer to continue the use of part-time workers. We reached an agreement in August and ratified it in September, which affords our full-time membership more overtime opportunities and establishes a higher baseline for hiring part-time. Our Part-time members also settled on a new contract.

Maywood

The employer in Maywood created a new 40 hour per week Lieutenant position in May, which we have been negotiating over. The village discussed creating an executive officer position which would become the first rank below that of the fire chief. The creation of such a position would affect the promotions from the officer ranks and place the new lieutenant position on regular shift. No action has been taken yet on this promotion. 

Broadview

Our members settled the promotional process for the lieutenant rank in the fall. One of our members was promoted, but retired soon after. The position was then filled with the Deputy Chief, who was not the next eligible member on the promotional list. We have agreed with management to meet to discuss this dismissal of the contract, and we are contemplating action to force the employer to abide by the agreement.

Pleasentview

Both our members and management agreed to an extension of both agreements which provides increases of 3.5% and 4% for our members. The agreement also allows our eligible members to invoke a one-time only longevity adjustment.