By Rich Lord
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
Copyright 2006 P.G. Publishing Co.
The city of Pittsburgh and its paramedics union reached a five-year contract deal yesterday, on the eve of the expiration of the old pact.
The contract calls for a two-year wage freeze and 2.5 percent raises in each of the last three years.
Paramedics didn’t seem thrilled, but opted for the deal by a vote of 90-29 rather than striking.
“We have to be fair to our employees, but we have to be prudent,” said Mayor Bob O’Connor. “It’s a fair deal.”
“I showed it to the members, and they understand the crisis we’re under with the city’s financial problems,” said Jeff Vesci, president of the Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics.
“We have a deal we can live with,” said Mr. Vesci, after union members voted last night.
The city is financially distressed under state Act 47, and has a long-term recovery plan that restricts union contracts.
Mr. Vesci characterized the contract as “the standard offer” the city is allowed to make under the Act 47 plan.
The paramedics also will move into the city’s standard health insurance plan. They will go from paying anywhere from nothing to $70 a month for health insurance to paying around $120 for a family plan.
Veteran paramedics, like other longtime city workers, will go from five weeks of vacation to four weeks. They also will shed several paid holidays.
“It’s a good agreement for the quality of emergency medical services and financially for the city,” said Solicitor Susan Malie, who negotiated the deal.
Mr. Vesci said he did not recommend the contract to members because it does not achieve “full parity” with the pay and benefits of city police and firefighters. He did not urge a strike, either.
That’s because the contract eliminates the threat of privatization that hung over the paramedics during parts of Mayor Tom Murphy’s administration, he said. The contract rules out a merger of the paramedics into the Fire Bureau.
“We’ve resolved our issues and protected our jobs under this agreement,” he said.
The city’s 160 paramedics earn base salaries of $32,000 to $47,000, but also work mandatory overtime that, on average, boosts their pay by around 25 percent. They have been working under a six-month contract extension that expires at midnight tomorrow.
The extension period counts as part of the two-year wage freeze.
Talks apparently went down to the wire. Mr. Vesci did not show up for an 11 a.m. meeting with his membership until after noon, after bargaining throughout the morning.
On Monday, the city resumes talks with its refuse workers, who have threatened to strike July 8.
Staff writer Moustafa Ayad contributed.