“I think it’s good. This brings us up to competitive (wage). That allows us to retain employees, but also recruit new ones,” said Chief Ethan Klussman.
“We started having a significant number of our senior firefighters leave because they could make more money elsewhere,’’ added Matt Owen, fire marshal and president of the Liberty Twp. Firefighters Local 4394.
Owen said the firefighters approached township officials in June about opening bargaining talks early to address the issue even though the current contract ran through May 31, 2025.
Agreement came after only three negotiating session using an interest-based approach to negotiations, Klussman said. That approach brings in a mediator from the start with both parties identifying their interests and making decisions by consensus.
“It’s more of a team approach to negotiations as opposed to adversarial. With IB you work collaboratively to find consensus,” Owen said.
“Through our hard work and with the help of the mediator John Gray, we were able to come to a consensus on the issues.’’
The current contract will now end Dec. 31 and the new contract begins Jan. 1. About 49 career firefighters — all but the chief and three battalion chiefs — are represented by the union. Owen said firefighters overwhelmingly approved the agreement.
Wages were the main difference between the old and new contracts. There were other minor changes, both Klussman and Owen said.
With the change, entry-level firefighters with no experience and no paramedic certification who are hired in the third year of the contract will earn about $52,000 annually, Owen said.
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