Labor Mediation Board Enters Talks With City's Fire Fighters

With city officials and representatives of the Ann Arbor Fire Fighters Association virtuall lat a standstill in contract talks la representative of the State Labor Mediation Board has been called in to help break the deadlock. The representative will meet with city and association officials at 1 p.m. tomorrow. This marks the first time a Labor Mediation Board man has been brought here on a city-union matter. Thomas A. Ferrier, president of the Fire Fighters Associafion, said the mediator was called in by the association because after several contract talks with city officials "negotiations are at a stalemate." Ferrier said, "Although the city negotiators gave the impression that they did tot want I state mediation, city fire fightI ers felt that a third, nonpartisan party might bring a spirit of objectivity to the talks necessary for a fair and equitable settlement." City Personnel Director Joseph A. Frisinger said the city [has agreed to meet with the Labor Mediation Board repre-j sentative, adding that the city I lis willing to meet with the fire-l I men at any time. "This will notl [be binding arbitration," Frisin-I ger pointed out, stating it is anl I attempt to bring both partiesl together. J I He added that the city has held 10 negotiating s e s s i o n si with representativas of the as-I sociation s i n c e early March.l "At the first session with the I f iré fighters, tentative agreement was reached on 32 points of negotiaticn. At the next 1 ing new representatives for the I fire fighters rejected the sel agreements and asked to start I at the beginning once again." The major point of disagree-l ment is wage increases, withl the city offering basically thel same package negotiated withl the city employés' union. Thisl includes a six per cent pay in-l crease July 1 and an additionall four per cent Jan. 1, 1969. In addition to fringe benefits, I Frisinger said the firemen's II sociation requested a food II lowance and the city agreed tol pay $208 per year. "The 1 fighting platoon personnel hav also been offered an improve holiday pay program, more in lme with our general holiday program," Frisinger said. "liicluding the improvemerit m the retirement program, the Ann Arbor firefighters have been offered a package totaling 17.85 per cent. We have nego tiated with them in good faith and we sincerely feel that the offer that has been made to them is just," Frisinger said. "This offer is in line with the ettlement achieved by our erai employés unión. The addiion of the food allowance and he general unión proposed that 'or the firefighters last year," ie concluded. Until this spring, firemen were members of Local 369 of ie American Federation of :ate, County and Municipal I Employés, APL-CIO. The employés' unión agreed to release firemen from this contract when the Ann Arbor Fire Fight-I ers Association was formed. On Mareh 4 the fire fighters umon entered the same basic contract with the city as that of :he employés' union. That contract expires July 1. Keportedly, firemen are askng that their wages be increased to be competitive withl he Metropolitan Detroit área departments and city officials have refused to grant the ' men any additional wages, outide of the food aUowance, rhich would be over and above the agreement reached with the i mployes' union. In October, firemen staged a 'ive-day sitdown demonstration II o protest lack of parking fa-1 Jities for the department, bugs! lm the Central Fire Station, thJ required gasing of pólice v cl hieles between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. and a heating problem. That dispute was settled al the city arranged for additional parking spaces, corrected th heating problem, eliminated thJ [necessity of gasing pólice vehil cles during the mentioned hourj and hired an exterminator tl rid the Central Fire Station ol bugs. During the sitdown demon-l stration, firemen responded tol all fíre calis but did not per- form their normal duties around the fire station. J