Tacoma firefighters will receive the same raise that the city’s police officers just received – 6.2 percent this year, followed by two years of pay hikes tied to the regional consumer price index.

A three-year contract between the city and the Tacoma Firefighters Union Local 31, approved Tuesday by the City Council, also gives members of the department’s specialized technical rescue team a 2.5 percent pay premium starting in 2010, and another 2.5 percent in 2011.

The union had previously sought premium pay for the rescue team members, but the independent arbitrator who decided the last contract denied the request. The team was briefly disbanded last year, but was reformed. Its members receive training in high- and low-angle rescues, trench collapse and confined space rescue.

Tad Jackson, the union’s new president, said the negotiations were “straightforward and professional,” and he praised the city team that City Manager Eric Anderson assembled.

The last contract marked the first time in 40 years that the firefighters union had gone to arbitration.

The labor deal is similar to the one just given to the union representing most of Tacoma’s police officers. It gives firefighters a 6.2 percent raise this year, maintaining the department’s position as the second-highest paying among comparable departments.

The comparable departments, determined by the arbitrator, are Bellevue, Central Pierce, Everett, Kent and Spokane.

The police contract also gave officers a 6.2 percent hike this year, maintaining Tacoma’s position as the highest paying among comparable cities.

In both cases, the city was limited in what it could do because of the previous arbitrator decisions, Human Resources Director Joy St. Germain said.

Officials believed they needed to maintain the firefighters’ and police officers’ relative positions with the comparable departments.

Firefighters will receive raises in 2010 and 2011 equal to 100 percent of the Puget Sound regional consumer price index, with a minimum 1 percent and maximum 5 percent.

The union membership agreed to the terms, even though they understand that the department will slip from its second-highest position in the second year of the contract, Jackson said.

“We understand where the city is at,” Jackson said, referring to the sagging economy.

The contract covers slightly more than 400 positions, and the raises will cost the city about $9.2 million in additional salary over the three years, according to a memo from Amy Palmer, the city’s budget officer. The majority of that cost – $7.7 million – will come from the city’s general fund. The remaining $1.5 million will come from the Emergency Medical Services Fund.

The firefighters are coming off a contract that gave them a 9.2 percent raise over three years, an amount that equaled 90 percent of the projected increase in the cost of living. They received a 3 percent raise last year, and raises of 2.1 percent and 4.1 percent in 2006 and 2007.

Jason Hagey: 253-597-8542

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