Meriden council approves labor tentative agreements for nurses, police and fire

The Meriden City Council adopted tentative agreements with three unions covering municipal nurses, police and fire personnel.

Personnel committee members reported the nurse agreement (effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028) calls for general wage increases including a 2.75% retroactive increase for 2025 and adjustments to the health plan. The council approved the nurses' tentative agreement by roll call; the committee reported its recommendation as unanimous.

The council also approved a multi-year tentative agreement with the Meriden Police union, which the committee said included a 3.25% retroactive increase on July 1, 2025 and step increases across later years. During discussion a councilor asked why a five-year agreement was proposed; City Manager Ryan Daniels said longer staggered contracts were intended to reduce the frequency of negotiations and provide budgeting predictability.

The fire department agreement (reported as a four-year contract) includes multiple 3% increases and a planned move by the fire unit to IAFF insurance in 2026; the city manager said the change is expected to produce net savings to the city but could reduce the size of the city's pooled health plan over time.

All three agreements were reported out of personnel and were adopted by the council on roll-call votes during the meeting. Councilors asked the city manager and finance staff to provide additional analysis (for example on health-insurance pool impacts) ahead of final ratification steps.

Next steps: agreements will follow standard ratification and implementation steps; council requested targeted financial analyses if needed before final effectuation.