New Labor Contract with Santa Rosa (CA) Firefighters Headed to Council on Tuesday

Santa Rosa firefighters and city officials have reached an agreement on a new labor contract that includes a 12 percent pay hike over three years and other benefits for rank-and-file fire personnel.

The raises along with other incentive pay will get firefighters closer to what peers at comparable agencies in the Bay Area earn, boosting the department’s efforts to recruit local job applicants and retain workers, a labor representative said.

Firefighters, represented by Santa Rosa Firefighters Local 1401, were the lone holdout after the city approved new contracts with up to 15% wage increases over three years with its other bargaining units in the summer.

The group had been pushing for a higher salary hike to address what representatives said were lagging wages up to 25% behind neighboring departments.

Santa Rosa Fire Capt. Stephan Dalporto, director of the labor union, said the salary hike plus additional incentive pay will help begin closing wage gaps in the department.

He said members were glad to reach an agreement after lengthy negotiations that began in January and have continued in the months since the prior contract expired on June 30. The new contract was approved by an overwhelming majority of the group’s 135 members, he said.

“We’re still below (average salaries) but we’re a lot closer than where we were at the beginning,” Dalporto said. “We’re excited.”

The City Council is set to approve the new contract on Tuesday. It will be in effect retroactively from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2027.

Funding for the added expenditures this fiscal year was included in the 2024-2025 budget, according to a city report.

The annual cost of carrying forward the higher pay rates and new benefits once the contract expires in 2027 is $3.9 million, which will add to the city’s operational deficit.

The council in October endorsed moving forward with a proposal that could slash as much as $29 million, or 5.7%, from the city budget, including four vacant firefighter positions, funding for brush management and cuts to the city fleet. The council is expected to vote on the cuts in January.

Santa Rosa rank-and-file firefighters will receive a 6% wage increase applied retroactively to Sept. 8, a 3% increase July 1, 2025, and a 3% increase July 1, 2026.

The general wage increases are in line with what police officers are receiving under their new contract.

The fire contract establishes incentive pay at a rate of 3% of employees’ base salary for personnel who are certified to handle rescue, wildland, swift water and hazardous materials calls.

The city also will offer additional pay bumps for employees who handle the department’s service dog, employees who voluntarily respond to an emergency while off duty but are directed to work once on scene, and for fire inspectors and investigators working holidays.

Paramedics that work on the city’s inRESPONSE crisis team also will see wage increases and other benefit changes under the approved contract.

Paramedics will receive a 12% salary increase over three years, and the contract establishes shift differential pay of 3% for those working the swing shift and 5% for the night shift.

Other terms in the contract include increasing how long the city must provide advanced notice to employees of a shift change from three to seven days.

Represented employees will receive an additional paid holiday — Juneteenth — and will see expanded short-term disability leave benefits that include paid parental leave.

The wage hike comes as fire agencies across the region prepare to receive an influx of cash from a half-cent sales tax approved in March expected to support 200 new firefighters across the county, help pay for equipment and facilities upgrades and fire prevention.

Santa Rosa stands to receive the largest share of the revenue at 14.4%, about $9 million of the $62 million the tax is expected to generate annually.

Dalporto said members have been meeting with Fire Chief Scott Westrope to help craft a plan for how revenue will be spent. More details will be available in early 2025.

The council in July approved labor agreements with other bargaining units that called for 12% to 15% general wage increases over three years plus other benefits.

But negotiations between firefighters and the city stalled after the city failed to meet the group’s demands for larger raises.

Firefighters had historically tied salary increases to that of comparable cities across the Bay Area, but Dalporto said at the time that city negotiators were unwilling to use that formula, likely because it would’ve resulted in a bigger jump.

He said Thursday the city remained firm on its initial offer that was in line with what was offered to other labor groups.

Both parties continued to meet over the last few months to hammer out a deal and Dalporto said while the increases didn’t get member salaries up to par with some of the higher paying agencies in the Bay Area, it’s a good start that will help stem turnover and fill vacancies.

“It was a lot longer process than we wanted. There were never any bad feelings. It was just a matter of coming up with something that was fair to both sides,” said Dalporto, who thanked council members and city management for working with labor representatives in good faith.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.

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