The city and its firefighters union have come to a contract agreement in which the International Association of Firefighters Local 974 agreed to a wage freeze for the first year of the three-year deal. City Council agreed to the new contract during its Zoom meeting held Monday, Oct. 19.
With the city facing uncertainty as to its tax collections in a year in which COVID-19 has played havoc with communities' budgets, Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan was grateful for the union’s consideration.
“Everybody is rising to the occasion during this pandemic,” Brennan said. "If we could give them raises, we would give them, but we can’t commit to that right now, and the fire union understands that. They look out for us every day in their capacity as firefighters, and they were looking out for us with this (agreement)."