We are awaiting a ruling from the special magistrate in the Arbitration case between our Firefighters and The City of Tallahassee for the firefighters one year contract. Since March of 2024 our Firefighters have been in prolonged negotiations
In the past year our firefighters have had 22 meetings with the City. Near the end of 2023 the city finally held two executive sessions which Curtis Richardson failed to appear at.
In November, Firefighters held a march to City Hall. At this march was Commissioner Matlow, Comissioner Porter, representative Joe Casello, and other speakers from across the state on behalf of our Firefighters.
After Many hours in negotiation meeting and not receiving any offers from the city showing movement, the Firefighter Union decided to call an impasse. The Firefighters declared their best last offer and started the process. During the Arbitration the two parties were still able to negotiate in the hopes that they could come to an agreement outside of the arbitration.
Arbitration For Firefighter One Year Contract
The arbitration hearing took place at the end of March 2024. At this hearing, the city and the union both presented facts and witnesses to the special magistrate. You can read a post about the city’s witnesses here:
You can watch the full arbitration case here: https://www.facebook.com/OurTallahasseeNews/videos/748244374114748
While awaiting a verdict, we have been told several times that there is a process and that the commission can’t vote to accept the firefighter’s offer. This is false. The commission directs the City Manager and has the ability to direct City manager, Reese Goad, to accept the firefighter offer. There is nothing in the process that says the two parties can’t come to an agreement outside of the Special Magistrate decision.
Recently, the Special Magistrate was ready to produce a verdict. However, the city did not include all the information and the Firefighter Union requested that all information be included so that the Special magistrate could make the best informed decision.
The Support From The Community
The support from the community has been impactful and huge. We have joined our voices together to amplify our firefighters. Countless emails were sent and read by our City Commission. People have spoken at almost every meeting, highlighting the treatment of our beloved firefighters. News and media outlets have heard our voices and have amplified us even more.
Commissioners Matlow, Porter, and County Commissioner Bill Proctor have continued to amplify the firefighter voices on social media, in city hall chambers, and in conversations with our community.
Commissioner Proctor hosted a town hall (Town Hall With Bill Proctor On Firefighter Pay) where a group of our neighbors formed “Friends of Firefighters.” They presented their ideas shortly after for what our community believes is fair for our firefighters.
While all this support from leaders and our community has been encouraging, we have to note the toll this has taken on our Firefighters and their families. At least 13 firefighters have left the department this year. Some of these men and women were born and raised in Tallahassee. While the City isn’t paying competitively, other departments in the state are. We have lost too many families to other departments, and we will miss those families.
While this one year contract will hopefully conclude soon and the three year contract will bridge the gap, our firefighters deserve to be paid fairly for this past year as well as the coming years.
