VIDEO/PHOTOS: A new three-year collective bargaining agreement took effect on Tuesday to encourage better work-life balance for first responders. It’s a first-of-its-kind contract that has been 11 months in the making.
The contract was a joint effort by the Cleveland Professional Firefighters Local 5490 and the Cleveland Township Board of Trustees in Elkhart. The goal is to ensure that the first responders serving the Cleveland Township community are not only financially supported but also physically and mentally supported.
The contract ensures competitive wages, a salary increase over the next three years, paid maternity and paternity leave, paid military leave for National Guard members, and a new schedule that President Jason Bryant says is “the envy of a lot of fire departments.”
