Sacramento County Firefighters Offer to Freeze Their Own Pay for 2 Years in Exchange for No Layoffs Until 2012
2-Year Deal Would Save City $10 Million

SACRAMENTO – Sacramento city firefighters have come back to the negotiating table once again offering to take a 5% pay-cut, freezing their salary for two and a half years , if the city agrees not to layoff firefighters until 2012. This offer would save the city more than $10 million over the duration of the contract extension on top of $10 million in current savings from early retirements and staffing vacancies. Concerned about protecting public safety and stopping the city’s rotating closures of firehouses, Sacramento’s firefighters want to ensure that there are adequate numbers of firefighters on the job to ensure quick response times and save lives.

When negotiations began, firefighters were the first to come to the table offering to take a pay-cut, but have expressed concerns about the negotiation process, the city’s intimidation tactics of issuing pink slips during the firefighters’ voting process, and the city’s lack of concessions to protect public safety.

“Our goal from the outset has been to negotiate in good faith and to protect public safety,” said firefighter Chris Harvey. “We hope that the city accepts this deal to freeze our pay for two years and ensure that firefighters remain in firehouses and on the job, so that we can all move forward.”

Over the past 30 years, the City of Sacramento has seen significant reductions in fire protection. While the population has nearly doubled and calls for firefighter service have more than quadrupled, the number of city fire trucks and engines has decreased. In 1977, there were 15,317 calls for service and 21 engines, and 10 trucks located within City limits. In 2008, there were 70,907 calls for service and only 19 engines and 9 trucks stationed in the City.

And though Sacramento’s firefighters have agreed to this pay-cut, they remain the lowest paid among comparable cities across the state, making significantly less than their counterparts in Stockton and Fresno.