Beaumont mediation narrows gaps on pension language, vacations and definitions; wages remain unresolved

Beaumont negotiators for the city and Local 399 firefighters met under a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) commissioner on Jan. 28 to continue talks on a successor labor agreement. Parties reached tentative agreement on several definitional items, vacation and holiday scheduling including adding Juneteenth, and agreed to place a random drug-screening program in an appendix, but remained far apart on wages and some committee pay provisions.

The session focused on narrowing language in the contract definitions, resolving who is paid for committee work, and clarifying how pension contributions will be handled going forward. Mediator-led caucuses produced an agreement to codify that “pension contribution shall not be subject to contract negotiations,” while the union and city agreed not to change the recognition clause at this time. The parties also agreed to finalize vacation language that allows vacation to be taken in a single 12-hour block at the beginning or end of a shift and to add Juneteenth to the holiday list.

Why it matters: the outstanding economic items — principally wages and how pension-related money is allocated — will determine total compensation for firefighters and affect the city budget. The wage proposals remain distant: the union reported current proposals that would total about 22% over four years after successive counters; the city remains at a roughly…