Ty Cardona, district captain and shop steward of Mehlville Local 2665 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, presented 10 negotiation items to the Mehlville Fire Protection District Directors’ meeting June 21.
The negotiation items, four monetary and six non-monetary, were drafted after receiving responses from a Google Survey that went to each member of the bargaining unit. Out of the 102 surveys sent, there were 68 responses.
One of the main points discussed was the switch to a 48/96 work schedule, meaning employees would work two 24-hour shifts consecutively, followed by four days off. Because this proposed schedule shift is a change from the current 12 or 24-hours on, every emergency employee, shop member or not, was contacted.
Ninety-three percent of the employees contacted were in favor of this schedule.
Almost every other organization in the area has already adopted this schedule, which could explain the retention problem seen by the MFPD. According to the document presented by Cardona, they have lost 11 employees since January 2022, not including anyone who retired, moved out of state or went to medical school.
This item was discussed “a lot” last year, though the board ultimately decided against it. The board did mention, however, that if the lack of a 48/96 schedule created a problem with retention, they would “entertain this type of schedule.”
Another important item discussed was allowing all fire and EMS personnel to wear t-shirts while on work calls, training, work assignments and at engine houses. This is a very common practice in St. Louis County and across the country, though not allowed for MFPD employees. T-shirts would still not be allowed to be worn on PR assignments or errands.
The allowance to have a Collective Bargaining Agreement through a negotiation process was also discussed. Per the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), “Collective bargaining is the process in which working people, through their unions, negotiate contracts with their employers to determine their terms of employment, including pay, benefits, hours, leave, job health and safety policies, ways to balance work and family, and more.” This, again, is something that other fire and EMS departments have in St. Louis County and across the country.
A few other points were discussed at the meeting, such as a pay raise based on the consumer price index or 5%, an increase in vacation days and non-revocable personal time off, pension changes, seniority determining house assignments, designating a dedicated workout time for trucks to go into a “limited service status” and allowing EMS division employees to switch to the fire division through a reasonable process.
