Paul Bass Photo
Chief Alston at fire headquarters.
The fire department has chipped away at nettlesome overtime costs by instituting a new rule allowing firefighters to work up to 38 hours in a row at straight pay.
The new rule came in the form of a memorandum of understanding reached Oct. 31 by New Fire Chief John Alston Jr. and firefighters union President Frank Ricci.
Under the old system, firefighters couldn’t work more than a “24-hour day” of consecutive service. That meant they couldn’t, say, work a 10-hour day shift, swap a shift with another firefighter for an overnight 14-hour duty, and then work another regular 10-hour shift the next day. They also couldn’t work two regular 14-hour shifts at night and an extra filling-in shift in the day in between.
That has caused problems for supervisors looking to fill slots when they’re short-staffed by allowing firefighters to agree to swap shifts. Those voluntary swaps — when firefighters agree to trade each other’s shifts — don’t entitle a firefighter to overtime. But when the old rule made it hard for people to swap, supervisors more often had to call in people on overtime. That, among other factors, helped drive up overtime costs.
Under the new system, firefighters can work a 38-hour “day.” That makes swaps much easier.
As a result, Alston reported at Tuesday’s Board of Fire Commissioners meeting, the department has been able to trim overtime costs from an average of $55,000-$61,000 a week to around $49,000 a week for the past two weeks.
Acting Operations Chief Ben Vargas said he has noticed another trend in those two weeks: less sick time. In the past, firefighters who swapped for a second shift would sometimes call in sick for a third shift. They weren’t allowed to work three shifts of a total of 38 hours in a row. Now they can. And “we’ve noticed a decrease in sick time,” Vargas said.
Firefighters currently work three straight 10-hour day shifts, take three days off, then work three 14-hour overnight shifts.
Overtime has been a recurring headache for the department. The Harp administration has made reducing it a priority. It made significant gains by hiring new classes of firefighters (the latest of which, with 16 cadets, is set to graduate at the end of December), among other measures. Without setting a numerical goal, Alston said Tuesday the department still has to cut a lot more overtime. His previous department had over 600 firefighters and “barely exceeded” $1 million a year in overtime costs, he noted. New Haven’s smaller department is still running more than double that tab.
Union President Ricci hailed the overtime rule change. Until now, especially during short-staffed holidays or vacation times, management has had to order firefighters in to fill needed slots on some shifts. Now they can draw from a larger pool of firefighters citywide who are amenable to swapping shifts with other firefighters.
“This mechanism will allow the city to save on overtime and prevent firefighters from being ordered into work,” Ricci said. “Say your kids have a baseball game or a football game on a Sunday, you can have someone filling your spot.”
Ricci and Alston, meanwhile, signed a second memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at reducing the length of some shifts for paramedics.
The MOU allows management to set up a rotation plan for paramedics. The goal is no longer to have paramedics working straight 14-hour shifts, Alston said. He plans to limit paramedic shifts to 12 hours. The paramedics will be reassigned to other duties for the rest of the shift. Now they’ll be able to spend some time on those shifts on other duties.
“If you’re a paramedic working a 14-hour shift, and it’s a busy night, that’s a lot to require” from a person, Alston said. He worries about burnout. “Nationally we have seen post-traumatic stress, injuries,” and other problems stemming from excessive paramedic duty.
Ricci said the change also will help paramedics develop more skills and “stay sharp,” and be more accepted by colleagues when they obtain promotions.
“If you get promoted and you are a paramedic, the way the system is now you get promoted in a cloud of suspicion because you don’t have the experience of working on an engine company or a squad,” Ricci said. “This allows paramedics to stay fresh and gives them an opportunity to get experience on difference services.”