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Union warns firefighters still lag national pay percentiles as commission reviews salary guidance
Summary
Union representative Tanner Mosher told the commission rank-and-file firefighters remain near the 50th percentile and "under the 40th percentile" with COLA adjustments. Commissioners reiterated a May 8 letter supporting a 3.5% structural adjustment and prior posture favoring the 75th percentile for chiefs.
Tanner Mosher, Maui Division Chair for Local 1463, told the Fire and Public Safety Commission on May 21 that while the commission's recommendations for chief pay are important, rank-and-file firefighters are falling behind nationally. "If you add the COLA adjustments, we're actually under the 40th percentile," Mosher said while urging the commission to consider the broader workforce when communicating with the Salary Commission.
Commissioners reviewed prior salary guidance going back to 2022 and a May 8 letter in which the commission supported a 3.5% structural salary adjustment for 2026 and reasserted a posture favoring the 75th percentile and a 90% deputy ratio. Chief Bradford Ventura added that the firefighters are represented under Hawaii bargaining procedures (Chapter 89, HRS) and that arbitration on recent bargaining was announced in April and remains in finalization steps.
