Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger and Burlington Fire Fighters Association (BFFA) leaders signed a new three-year contract. With the BFFA contract, the Administration completes a twelve-contract run without arbitration over three rounds of bargaining with the City’s four unions; the American Federation of State, County, Municipal, Employees (AFSCME), Burlington Fire Fighters Association (BFFA), Burlington Police Officers’ Association (BPOA), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
The Mayor made the following statement:
“Since first being elected, I have sought to reach agreements with the City’s unions at the negotiating table, instead of through adversarial binding arbitration. Our consistent success proves that through good communication and strong collaboration with our unions, it is possible to build fair contracts that value workers while protecting taxpayers.
In all of our contract negotiations, we have taken on our biggest employment challenges head-on – including rising health care and pension costs – and this was our most challenging bargaining round yet, as it took place during a time of great economic uncertainty and high inflation that is impacting workers, households, and City expenses. The Administration worked hard to come together with our union leaders to ensure competitive wages, and fair benefits, and to become the first town or city in Vermont to support its employees with paid family leave, all while limiting financial risk to Burlington’s taxpayers and ratepayers and creating the needed recruitment and retention tools for the City to succeed during the current workforce shortage.
I am grateful to serve alongside our hardworking City employees who provide a variety of essential services from emergency response, to running our elections, to maintaining public infrastructure. It is thanks to their skills and commitment that Burlington will have a safer, greener, and more just future.”
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