Boston firefighters to receive 8.5% pay hike after striking 4-year deal with city
The Boston firefighters union has ratified a $90 million collective bargaining agreement with the city that includes an 8.5% raise over a four-year period.
The contract was ratified by union membership last week on Dec. 22, and covers the retroactive period of July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028.
“Local 718 is very proud of this contract that we were able to negotiate with the City of Boston,” Boston Firefighters Local 718 President Sam Dillon told the Herald Tuesday. “It recognizes the services and sacrifices that our firefighters deliver every single day, as well as taking care of their families.”
The agreement, announced Tuesday by Mayor Michelle Wu, includes a 2.5% wage increase for each firefighter in the first year, and a 2% increase for firefighters every year for the three subsequent years.
“Our Boston firefighters and their families serve with dedication and sacrifice every hour of every day on behalf of the residents of Boston,” Wu said in a statement that added she was happy to partner with the union “to reach an agreement that will improve quality of life for our firefighters and strengthen operations within the department.”
The contract is the second to be reached between the city and firefighters union during the Wu administration.
A three-year $27.35 million deal with a 10.6% pay hike was struck between the two sides in September 2023 to avoid arbitration, but it largely covered a retroactive period, meaning that bargaining on this deal began shortly thereafter, in the spring of 2024, city officials said at the time.
Dillon declined to say whether the union got everything that it bargained for, or if concessions were made.
The new deal, which has to be approved by the City Council next year to go into effect, includes base salary increases at five, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service to “ensure the longevity of firefighters” working for the Boston Fire Department, Wu’s office said.
It also increases line of duty death benefits for active firefighters who die in the course of their work for the Boston Fire Department.
Several provisions in the contract are aimed at reforming operations to bolster public safety infrastructure in the city, Wu’s office said.
The Fire Department agreed to implement a new electronic detail application to streamline the process to fill and better administer paid details.
The contract also seeks to bolster paid details by allowing retired firefighters under the age of 75 to work fire details, city officials said.
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The paid detail rate is set to increase over the course of the contract, Wu’s office said.
The Marine Unit is confirmed as a specialized operation under the terms of the agreement, which requires specific training for firefighters to work in that capacity.
Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Burke said in a statement that the contract “not only strengthens the operational structure of the fire department, it also fairly compensates our firefighters who come to work every day and serve the residents of our city with professionalism and respect.”
The mayor’s office said Wu settled 64 union contracts with city employees during her first four-year term in office. She will be sworn into a second term on Jan. 5.
President of the Boston Firefighters local 718 Sam Dillon (Herald file) June 16, 2023
