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Union offers lower wage demand, counters on specialty and critical‑care pay
Summary
The union signaled a reduced wage request of 5% per year and presented counteroffers and withdrawals on a range of items including FTO/mentor pay, specialty‑team pay ($100 counter), bilingual pay (rejected by city), and CCU incentives.
Jay Nicholson, president of the El Paso Association of Firefighters, told city representatives the union planned to lower its wage demand to 5% per year while retaining step increases and protections for higher ranks.
"We were looking to lower our ask to 5% per year, across the board, keep the step," Nicholson said. A Local 51 representative read a detailed list of items: the union agreed to withdraw a PAP increase to 10%, asked for FTO and mentor pay to be alternate rather than cumulative, and offered to withdraw walk pay.
On bilingual pay, an agency official said the city would "reject a proposal at this time" while HR evaluates a citywide approach. On specialty teams, the union proposed a $100 monthly incentive per team assignment with stacking capped at two teams and no cap on team size; the city said it would take the counter under advisement.
The union also sought clarification about incentives for critical care paramedics and CCU/Firestar staffing. The city said its counter proposes a 5% incentive for critical care paramedics while assigned to the relevant unit and noted that incentives would not stack.
Next steps: city staff said they will review the union counters and return with clarified language and timing; effective dates for any agreed incentives will depend on budget timing and contract closing.
