Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Columbia firefighters press for staffing, pay adjustments and binding arbitration in full-contract year
Summary
Columbia Professional Firefighters told the City Council they will pursue a full contract this year with proposals on staffing to reach a four-person minimum, new retirement health options, specialty pay and stronger dispute-resolution rules including binding arbitration.
For those who don’t know me in the room, I’m Zach Ravett, I’m the president of Columbia Professional Firefighters, I represent 160 ish members of our fire department, he said, opening the union’s full-contract presentation to the Columbia City Council on Jan. 21.
Ravett told the council the union will seek amendments to chapter 19 of the city code to improve bargaining procedures, voluntary recognition for seven support-staff positions in the fire department, and a package of pay and staffing changes. “All the people in here, can make all the decisions you want, but without the people that are on the streets right now in fire trucks, none of that happens,” he said.
The union described three primary economic priorities: across‑the‑board pay adjustments to offset inflation, additional step(s) to the pay plan to restore lost buying power, and specialty-pay for credentialed assignments such as…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
