- Fire negotiations between the City of Tallahassee and Tallahassee Professional Firefighters continue for a three-year contract for the first responders.
- Union leaders said they want their fire workers to make comparable wages to other city employees.
- Watch the video to see what the city is offering:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Fire union leaders asked for more to to be brought to the table in a new three-year contract for Tallahassee firefighters.
As we enter the last few weeks before a new pay and benefits package is set to start, the Tallahassee Professional Firefighters and the City of Tallahassee could not come to an agreement Monday.
The Tallahassee Professional Firefighters union countered Tallahassee city leaders' offer for a new pay and benefits package.
The city is offering around a 10.5% pay bump to firefighters, 7% for engineers and 5% for lieutenants.
Union president Joey Davis said the city's offer does not get them to the same level as other comparable city employees.
This comes after the city and union went back and forth for a year over the 2024 contract.
A new deal should go into effect starting October first.
Davis said they want to get the negotiations done quickly, but need to fight for more for their first responders.
"It's our goal to bring this before our people and able to ratify it before October 1st but it's our responsibility to bring something back to them that they can actually vote for," Davis said. "As of right now we're not quite at that point."
City leaders said they were surprised by the counter offer by the union.
City manager Reese Goad wrote in a statement that "...both negotiating teams believed that the voting members would support the offer...." after a meeting last week.
Union leaders said they polled members on the city's offer this weekend.
In his statement, Goad wrote "...time is of the essence. Every indication is that the firefighters want to approve the offer..."
While they wouldn't give an exact number, the union said their bargaining units are split on the offer.
The union and city will meet again September 19 to discuss the three-year contract.
