After six years of negotiations, Okotoks firefighters have signed an agreement to unionize under the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).
The first collective agreement for Okotoks firefighters was ratified on March 28.
According to John Cunningham, Okotoks firefighter and president of the newly-formed Okotoks Firefighters Local 4829, both the members and the Town realized it would be a lot of work to finalize the first agreement.
“Both sides were anxious to make sure we started with a good foundation,” said Cunningham. “In a lot of cases, a first-time contract formalizes a lot of things in the relationship with the employer.”
While he said the agreement won’t change fire department operations, the biggest change is the increase to wages. It amounted to $370,000 being added to the 2016 budget for 14 full-time firefighters.
Besides a forum to negotiate wages, Cunningham said Okotoks firefighters view unionization as a way to deal with their employer in an organized way.
The main reason for forming the union was to provide members a voice with regards to working conditions and safety, including public safety issues, he said.
“We see things all the time and we want an opportunity to have a voice to help make things better,” said Cunningham. “The guys, in the future, will have more of a say in making changes and suggesting changes.”
As the largest union for firefighters in North America, the IAFF will also provide a lot of support and resources to Okotoks firefighters like education and safety information, he said.
“There’s also the community of it,” said Cunningham. “I think firefighters tend to have a real brotherhood among themselves in their department, but they have that in their union, too.”
Okotoks corporate and strategic services director Nancy Weigel said the Town is pleased to have reached the milestone after years of discussion.
“Typically a first collective agreement is a lengthy process,” said Weigel.
Each section of the agreement is discussed at length to ensure it is understood fully by both parties, she said.
“Really it’s starting from scratch,” said Weigel. “Both sides here had a learning curve because it was new for both parties. This is now the only unionized group within the Town of Okotoks.”
Negotiations were also long because meetings only took place about twice per year, she said.
Prior to the collective agreement, firefighters fell under the Town’s personnel policy, she said. Many of the same policies were lifted and put into the union agreement.
“Wage adjustments are for bringing them up to the current standards,” said Weigel. “And now moving forward, the union will negotiate their wages.”
Weigel said unionizing is very common in the firefighting industry, and many small towns in Alberta started forming their own Locals between 2008 and 2010.
“When our firefighters decided to form their own union as well, that’s when we started going to the drawing board,” she said. “Now this first agreement is signed and we move forward, happy to have gotten through this major milestone.”
Okotoks fire chief Ken Thevenot said he is pleased to see union negotiations close on a positive note.
“I’m happy an agreement was completed and I look forward to working with the guys,” said Thevenot.
