HOBOKEN – Hoboken Fire Department members will work with a new union contract for the first time since 2007.
The Hoboken City Council, after approximately 20 minutes in closed session on Monday night, voted unanimously to support a new collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the local unions and the administration of Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
The local fire unions are IAFF Local 1076 and 1078. The agreement has been ratified by both union memberships, and after Monday night, has also been approved by the council.
The new six-year contract is effective from Jan. 1, 2007 through Dec. 31, 2013.
A city press release did not say the exact amount of the raises. It said that the retroactive pay increases and insurance and vacation day concessions mirror those agreed to with the police unions earlier this year.
The police union contract approved in March raised salaries by 13 percent over six years and required officers to contribute 1.5 percent of their salaries to health benefits, according to a published newspaper report.
The fire department retroactive pay will be paid over three years from 2012 to 2014, according to the release.
In 2011, the city has successfully negotiated two public safety union contracts, reaching an agreement with the Hoboken Police Department earlier this year. — Ray Smith