OSWEGO – Mayor Billy Barlow announced today, Thursday, September 29, the city of Oswego and the Oswego Firefighter’s Association Local 126 have reached a new contractual agreement set to take effect on January 1, 2023.
Negotiations between the two parties occurred over the last two months as the existing contract was set to expire at the end of this year. The Oswego Common Council and the fire union both voted and unanimously passed the contract during recent meetings.
The new contract will provide substantial raises for all members of the Oswego Fire Department to make Oswego salaries more comparable to surrounding departments to help with member recruitment and retention efforts. In addition, the fire union offered several concessions to produce savings for the city such as reducing the number of firefighters allowed on vacation at one time, reducing minimum overtime call-in hours, eliminating half time holiday pay, and more.
“I am excited to work with the fire union to agree to a contract that provides raises to our employees who stepped up these last few years to do more training than the department has ever done to significantly expand the capability of the Oswego Fire Department, worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and increased productivity to better serve the citizens of Oswego,” Barlow said. “Thanks to our secure financial position as a city, we put together a fair contract allowing our wages to be competitive to other surrounding fire departments. Our firefighters do more than most departments by serving as paramedics, performing water and ice rescues, drone operations, and much more, so I am glad to be able to deliver a contract that acknowledges and appreciates the great work they do.”
A current base pay firefighter is hired at $45,063. Under the new agreement, base pay will be raised to $52,500. A ten-year firefighter currently makes $64,147. The new agreement will raise the salary to $75,000. The four-year contract also consists of a wage schedule consistent with no further raises for the next two years, followed by a 5% raise in 2025 and a 3% raise in 2026.
“We are pleased to work with Mayor Barlow to deliver a contract that will provide better service to the community, reduce unnecessary costs, and ultimately make us competitive with the area,” Donald LaBarge, president of the Oswego Fire Association said. “We thank the mayor and council for their recognition of the work that we do and for their continuing support of the department, the employees, and the residents of our community.”
The Oswego Firefighter Association contract will be the last settled contract of Barlow’s tenure as all other city unions and bargain groups are in the first or second year of multi-year agreements.
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