15% Raise for Anaheim Firefighters Angers City

In a case closely watched by firefighters and public officials across the state, Anaheim firefighters have won a 15% wage increase through binding arbitration, their first raise since 1996.

Made public Friday, the decision angered city officials, who say the award is unjustified and may result in a reduction of other services. The city did win on other issues, including drug testing and personal use of e-mail at work.

The ruling comes four years after the last contract ended, and nearly nine months after both sides began testifying and submitting documents to independent arbitrator Michael Prihar. The Anaheim firefighters are the first firefighters union in southern California--and among only a handful in the state--to go through binding arbitration, a process that allows a neutral third party to rule on issues of contention.

“I think most of the guys are very relieved,” said firefighter Rob Stuart. “We’re very happy that it’s over, very happy that we have a contract.”

They said the raise merely brings their salaries in line with other Orange County fire departments.

“The 15% brings us to about the median in the county. That’s all we ever wanted,” said union President Mike Feeney.

Without arbitration, the city and firefighters might still be negotiating, he said. Unlike other unions, firefighters cannot strike because of public safety reasons.

A bill sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) and former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) would make binding arbitration legal for all firefighters’ unions in California.

But Anaheim officials said the arbitrator was misguided in awarding a contract that will cost an additional $1.3 million annually. Prihar mistakenly assumed the city could use reserve funds, some of which are inaccessible for paying public employees, said City Manager James D. Ruth. The city will have to search for ways to pay for the raise, including streamlining the fire department’s expenses, he said.

The decision illustrates the risk of having an outside party take decisions out of the hands of elected officials, said Ruth. ‘

‘It’s fraught with inherent dangers and is not in the best interest of citizens,” he said.

Union leaders around the county endorsed the arbitrator’s award, saying he had inserted fairness into an unfair negotiating process.

“This provides a balance to firefighters, who don’t have the same options as other employees,” said Dan Young, chief negotiator for the Orange County Firefighters Assn. “Even when firefighters are treated unfairly, even when they’re given an unreasonable offer, they still come to work every day.”

Though binding arbitration should be a last resort, Young said the process should be available to all.

“The best scenario for us would be to have binding arbitration and never use it,” he said.

Until 1996, Anaheim’s firefighters were among the best paid in Orange County. But the city’s fiscal tightening that year left the two sides polarized.

Frustrated over stalled negotiations, the firefighters gathered 22,400 signatures to put Measure A on the November 1998 ballot, an amendment to the city’s charter that would make binding arbitration a legal option.

Despite opposition from the city, voters passed Measure A 2 to 1. The two sides continued negotiating until the firefighters declared an impasse in March 1999, making it arbitration necessary under the terms of Measure A.

The city and firefighters began with 80 issues. Over three months, the two sides narrowed the unresolved issues down to 19, including wages, use of e-mail, holiday time and drug and alcohol testing.

In addition to granting the requested wage increase, Prihar ruled the city could not take away two paid holidays, nor overstaff the department to reduce overtime hours worked by firefighters.

However on 13 issues, he found the city’s requests reasonable. The city offered a one-time payment of $735,000--$2,900 per firefighter--compared to $1.5 million requested by firefighters.

The city will now have the right to conduct drug and alcohol testing, and institute a fitness policy. The arbitrator also denied firefighters additional retirement benefits.

Though they now have a contract, both sides are already looking ahead to next June, when the contract expires. Both the city and firefighters say the binding interest arbitration was painful and costly, with combined expenses mounting to $300,000, and hope they never have to do it again.

But union leader Feeney said it was worth the price. “We’re absolutely satisfied,” he said. “The process worked as it was designed to do, to bring both parties together on a level playing field.”

City officials said they will try to forge new relationships with the firefighters in advance of the next round of contract negotiations.

“We’ve always had a great deal of respect for the firefighters and the services they provide,” said Ruth. “Our objective is to move forward and find common ground.”