Labor Agreement finally reached between Santa Maria City and Fire
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - City leaders and firefighters in Santa Maria are celebrating the long-awaited approval of a new labor contract.
For the last two years, the local fire department has been at odds with the City of Santa Maria through a contentious campaign for fair pay.
Since 2023, they've been operating under the previous M.O.U. (memorandum of understanding), which has affected their recruitment and retention rates.
“When we hire new firefighters, we have to put them through a rigorous training academy. And then once they complete the training academy, they then right around town on engine serving the community. This community is really busy. There's a lot of demand on fire services. And for the low pay that we were receiving was contributing to those individuals taking jobs elsewhere,” says Matthew Chircop, City Fire captain and Local 2020 president.
As of Tuesday night, they've reached a 2 1/2-year agreement, with negotiations for the subsequent two years pre-scheduled for 3 months before the end of this one.
“I’m glad we get to be cooperative at the table, don’t have to be combating back and forth. I'm looking forward to working with the union, with our chief to continue to bring high quality service to our community,” says David Rowlands, Santa Maria’s city manager.
Starting in June this year, firefighters will have a base pay increase of 14%, an increase to health insurance benefits, and certain equity adjustments.
Some additional minimal adjustments are to be included, such as an additional holiday for Cesar Chavez Day, standby pay for the fire investigation on-call program, and a rise in hours available for the union’s use for association business.
“This agreement adds standby pay for future arson investigators. Our prevention bureau provides that service during daytime hours, but they don't provide that service after hours. And we're hoping that we can get an agreement soon to put that program into place,” says Chircop.
Unit members who were already under city employ when this M.O.U. was adopted, will also be given a one-time lump sum payment of $2,000.
“Now we can focus on big, important issues. The employees now don't have to worry about the pay. We get to work together as a team and move this department forward,” says Rowlands.
Leadership at the City of Santa Maria and the Fire Department are both excited to announce this long-awaited agreement, and members of the fire department want to thank the community and their families for supporting them through this long negotiation process.
