After a Year of Talks, O.C. Firefighters Get 4% Annual Raise

Orange County firefighters will receive a 20% pay raise over five years under a contract approved Thursday, ending almost a year of union negotiations with the Orange County Fire Authority.

Joe Kerr, president of the Orange County Professional Firefighters Assn., said the pact allows for 4% annual increases for the life of the contract, with the first raise retroactive to October.

Fire authority directors initialed the agreement Thursday at Irvine City Hall and declared the pact fair to both sides.

In a prepared statement, Fire Chief Chip Prather said the contract represents “a fair settlement that will ensure stability and harmony in our organization for the next five years.”

Board Chairman Shawn Boyd said the compensation package “will allow the Orange County Fire Authority to attract and retain highly qualified personnel.”

Kerr said the negotiations, which began in March and extended over 27 bargaining sessions, had been stalled over the pay issue. Firefighters had been working without a contract since July and rejected the county’s “final offer” in September calling for a 14.65% increase in base pay.

“Pay was the major stumbling block,” Kerr said. “But we hung in there, and the membership backed us all the way. Our negotiating team gave the agreement their thumbs up and recommended that our people approve it.”

Union members approved the settlement Thursday.

The agreement also calls for additional compensation for firefighters in specialized fields: paramedics, hazardous-materials teams, urban search and rescue squads and firefighters trained for aircraft rescues at John Wayne Airport.

“Our urban search and rescue team especially deserved it. They were sent to Oklahoma City, Mexico City and to help out in the L.A. riots and Northridge quake,” Kerr said.

Now Among the Best Paid

Besides John Wayne Airport, county firefighters serve unincorporated areas and 21 cities. The union also represents fire captains, engineers, helicopter pilots and some office personnel, more than 700 employees.

The top base pay for a county firefighter is now $4,398 a month working a 56-hour week, Kerr said. The new contract will bring county firefighters parity with their colleagues in the Santa Ana, Orange and Newport Beach departments, which Kerr said are the best paid in the county.