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Fairbanks council approves contract with firefighters union

Fairbanks Fire Department crews respond to a structure fire on January 19, 2020.
Courtesy of City of Fairbanks
Fairbanks Fire Department crews respond to a structure fire on January 19, 2020.

The Fairbanks City Council on Monday approved a new, three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Fairbanks Firefighters Union.

The vote marked the end of a two-year negotiation process that involved mediation and federal arbitration, which concluded in July.

It also comes after the council rejected a previous version of the contract last year, leaving the city and union to operate under expired terms while the parties hashed out the new agreement.

Fairbanks Fire Capt. Zach Rittel, one of the negotiators for the union, said it’s been a long process.

“The best thing that could happen here tonight is as little drama as possible, preferably a 6-0 vote to fund the contract, to just set everything right and start rebuilding that relationship,” he told the council Monday.

Rittel got what he hoped for, as the council voted unanimously to approve the new agreement following a short discussion, capped off by comments from Mayor David Pruhs.

Back in November, Pruhs was the tiebreaker when the council rejected the previous version of the agreement in a 4-3 vote. On Monday, he called this contract “very good” and said it “treats everyone fairly.”

“So congratulations to all the parties. We’re here. It’s nice. And I’m happy,” he said.

The new agreement provides a 4% raise for fire-suppression personnel and a 5% raise for administrative staff for the current year. All union personnel will receive a 4% wage increase for 2026 and 2027.

The contract also lowers minimum staffing levels at the Fairbanks Fire Department from 13 to 11. That’s a change some council members have sought in hopes of reducing overtime costs at the department.

The new agreement will increase city expenditures by about $2.5 million total over the three-year period, according to a fiscal note. By comparison, the contract the council voted down last year would have cost almost $7.5 million total over three years.

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