City of Albuquerque Reaches Settlement Agreement With Albuquerque Firefighters

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico, Jan. 26 -- The city of Albuquerque issued the following news:

Today, the City of Albuquerque reached a settlement agreement with the Albuquerque firefighters union, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 244 (IAFF), regarding disputed pay raises dating back to Fiscal Year 2011 under the previous administration. To resolve the dispute, the City and IAFF Local 244 reached a no-fault/no-admission settlement resulting in a one-time payment of $8 million.

"Our first responders are paramount to helping us create a safe city for our families," stated Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair. "We had a responsibility to both uphold a commitment that was made by the previous administration and reach an agreement that is fair for the taxpayers."

BACKGROUND

In 2008, the City executed a multi-year collective bargaining agreement with IAFF that included anticipated annual (compounded) wage increases. The agreement was in effect from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2011. The City Council annually appropriated the amount of funds needed to pay the wage increases each year for the first two years of the agreement. However, for the last year of the agreement, the City Council did not appropriate funds to provide for the 6 percent aspirational wage increase set forth for FY 2011. Instead, the City Council implemented City-wide wage and salary reductions due to a severe economic downturn and a massive general revenue budget shortfall.

Based on the amount appropriated by the City Council to be used for firefighter wages for FY 2011, wages were reduced for IAFF members by 2.47 percent below FY 2010 levels. The City also increased IAFF members' contribution rate for insurance benefits from 17 percent (as set forth in the CBA for FY 2011) to 20 percent.