Melissa Bailey Photo
(Updated with Harp comment.) Firefighters will make a major switch in how they pay for health care, according to the terms of a new labor contract ratified Monday.
They will all move from traditional health insurance plans to health savings accounts (HSAs), a first for any city union, as the city continues efforts to rein in long-term labor costs.
By a vote of 181 to 37, firefighters approved a new, 5‑year contract. The voting took place Friday and Monday at firehouses around town.
The deal runs from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2016. It still needs to be approved by the Board of Alders.
It includes pay raises balanced out by givebacks in pension and medical plans that are estimated to save the city about $2.25 million per year, according to the mayor’s office.
“I’m pleased with the outcome,” fire union President Jimmy Kottage said Monday night at the fire training school on Ella Grasso Boulevard, where the ballots were counted after 9 p.m. “It’s an equitable contract during difficult fiscal times.”
“It’s been a grueling three years” of negotiations, he said.
“I welcome the ratified agreement between the city and its firefighters’ union and its promise of a stable, productive working relationship with these city employees through Fiscal Year 2016,” Mayor Toni Harp said in a press statement issued at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The deal mirrors an oral agreement Kottage settled with the DeStefano administration last October. After Harp replaced Mayor John DeStefano in January, Kottage approached her administration about revisiting some terms of the deal. The conversations didn’t end up changing the deal firefighters approved.
Kottage stamps a copy of the official ballot results.
“This is not a Harp contract,” Kottage said Monday; it represents negotiations made with DeStefano’s team. He said he plans to negotiate with Harp’s administration an extension of the contract that the union just settled, because it is due to expire in just two years. He said he would also broach the idea of making some changes to the contract after July 1, 2016.
“I believe both sides can do better,” he said. The contract includes giving up some pension benefits for new hires. “My goal would be to get some of those benefits back in the contract,” Kottage said.
The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 825, which represents 247 New Haven firefighters, had been holding out against making concessions that other unions made before them. Their contract ended up with elements similar to the city managers and police, which have already reached agreements. Kottage even openly criticized the police union for settling a similar deal.
Below are highlights of the contract, according to Kottage:
Pay. Firefighters, who make a $67,283 base salary per year plus overtime, would not get any retroactive pay raises for the time since their contract expired on June 30, 2011. Whenever the contract is approved, firefighters would get a 3 percent raise, followed by a 2.5 percent raise on July 1, 2014, and another 2.5 percent raise the following year.
Health care. In a first for a city union, all active firefighters would make a big switch in the way they get health insurance. They’ll change from a conventional health care plan to a health savings account with a deductible of $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families.
Some unions offer HSAs as an option, but the fire union would be the first to switch all active members to HSAs. In an HSA, the employee and employer stash money in an account that’s set aside for medical care. Instead of forking over a co-pay at the doctor’s office, workers have to shell out for the deductible. After that, additional medical costs are paid for by drawing down from their HSA. The working assumption behind the HSA is that workers will spend less money on health care if they consider the money to be their own.
The city will help seed the HSAs by putting in $1,300 for individuals and $2,600 for firefighters with families this year. That’s 65 percent of the deductible. Next year, the city will pay 50 percent.
Firefighters would pay 13.5 percent of the monthly payments instead of 16.5 percent, as they currently do. Under their current plan, a Century Preferred PPO, firefighters with families pay $88 per week in premiums; under the HSA they would pay $50 per week towards the cost of the HSA, Kottage said.
Pensions. Following changes made by the police union, the fire union would give up some pension benefits for new employees. New hires would no longer have overtime pay included in the calculations for their pensions. They wouldn’t be able to cash in sick time for retirement benefits. And they’d have to wait 25 years to retire instead of 20.
All active firefighters would also increase their monthly pension contributions from 8.75 to 10 percent of their salaries upon ratification; then up to 11 percent on July 1.
Firefighters who have already retired wouldn’t see changes to their health care or pensions, Kottage said.
Clothing Allowance
Firefighters currently get a $520 allowance per year to buy clothing. They would give up that payment for 2014 and get it back in 2015.
Holiday pay. Firefighters get paid for 13 holidays per year. Under the new contract, they’d be paid for 10 hours per day on those days instead of the previous 12.
Mandatory staffing level. The fire union has agreed to make changes to a key clause in its contract that was settled seven years ago. The clause set a mandatory staffing level dictating the number of firefighters that must be on the job at any given time. Kottage said the union agreed to lower that number from 73 to 72. Because there are four work shifts, that equates to eliminating four positions, for a savings of $560,000 per year, Kottage said.