District 2 firefighters, commissioners agree on new labor contract

Negotiations between the Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 Commissioners and the West Shoshone County Firefighters IAFF L2034 have finally been put to bed, as the two sides have come to an agreement on the outstanding issues that kept a new labor contract from being signed.

Union President and lead negotiator Tyler Rotchford previously explained to the News-Press that while agreements had been reached on the topics of holiday pay, vacation time, and living requirements — the issue of a base and paramedic pay increase remained a sticking point.

Following a special Aug. 3 meeting between the two sides at the SCFD No. 2 Firehouse in Kellogg though, a wage increase no longer seems to be an issue.

According to a revised wage scale document that had been agreed upon by both parties during the commissioner’s normal meeting on Aug. 17, nearly all firefighters, regardless of their level or time of service, will see at least a $2.50 raise from what they currently make.

Entry level firefighter pay has been raised 22% from $13.12 an hour to $16 an hour. Paramedics will also receive an additional 10% raise on top of their base pay to recognize the numerous hours of clinical time and schooling they have completed.

Of the 10 person staff at SCFD No. 2 (two shy of full staff), all are certified EMT’s, five are Advanced EMT’s, but none are paramedics. Pay does increase for firefighters at all levels when they hit certain longevity benchmarks.

Citing numerous reasons such as inflation, rising costs of living, and simply making wages more competitive to attract and retain employees, the West Shoshone County Firefighters initially asked for a 30% base pay raise, but Rotchford said he is pleased with the compromise that was reached.

“When I sat down in that last meeting that we were negotiating and they handed me this longevity scale with our raises, I was very excited,” he said. “I was almost speechless. Negotiations can be stressful and emotions can run high, so it was great to see us come together and agree on something that will hopefully keep employees around longer.”

He added that an option was added in the new contract, which will take effect in October, that allows both sides to discuss wage changes every year- which opens the door for annual cost of living adjustments.

Rotchford believes this raise, combined with the improved holiday pay, vacation time, and living requirements, will incentivize new employees to come to the district and motivate veterans to stay.

“Not being able to keep people is our biggest problem,” Rotchford said in a previous interview. “It’s the union’s opinion that we want to keep as many firefighters as we can because this area is so large and we are so short staffed.”

SCFD No. 2 is hosting an open house event on Sept. 24. For more information, visit the SCFD No. 2 Facebook page.