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Negotiators compromise on trial alternate shift schedule and personal-day accruals
Summary
In bargaining Oct. 1, union negotiators proposed an alternate shift (RM 28a) that would prohibit off-duty work only in the 24 hours before a shift and place the schedule on two trial periods; parties also discussed converting five flat personal days into four accruing days with an eight‑day cap.
The City of Wesicco and representatives of the Wesicco Firefighters Association continued contract negotiations Oct. 1, focusing on a proposed alternate shift schedule and how personal leave would accrue. The meeting opened at 05:02 and negotiators agreed to proceed while a third representative was en route.
The union’s presenter laid out a counterproposal to RM 28a that would narrow the proposed restriction on off-duty work to the 24 hours immediately preceding a shift rather than a longer off-period, and place the schedule on two trial periods: a six-month review ending March 2026 and a second trial through Sept. 30, 2026, with a final contract termination date of Sept. 30, 2028 unless both parties agree to extend it. “The only prohibition is on performing off-duty work in the 24 hours immediately preceding the shift,” the presenter said while outlining the trial windows.
On personal leave, negotiators exchanged proposals about replacing an earlier plan for five flat personal days with four days that accrue on Oct. 1 each year and carry over up to an eight‑day cap. The presenter said the change was intended to preserve time for childcare use while preventing unlimited accrual: “Accrual happens on October 1 of every year of the 4 personal days. They don’t expire from year to year, but a firefighter can’t accrue more than 8.” City representatives sought clarification about whether the union intended to remove a childcare-specific leave provision and whether the parties preferred a flat five-day grant or an accrual model; the group agreed to hold those details while staff review the draft language.
Negotiators repeatedly returned to wording and operational impacts—chiefly how the alternate shift and accrual mechanics would work in practice. City staff warned that specific triggers (for example, filling nine vacancies) and the chosen earlier/later language can change which condition governs expiration, and asked that any trial periods not hamper the fire chief’s ability to assign personnel to meet operational needs.
The parties did not adopt a final agreement on RM 28a or the personal-day mechanics but signaled willingness to continue refining language and to test the schedule if both sides agree. The meeting closed with scheduling steps to reconvene with staff to finalize draft language.
The city and union will meet again this week to refine the RM 28a text and the personal-day accrual language; no formal vote or ratification occurred at the Oct. 1 meeting.
