Firefighters Spurn Final County Pay Offer

Union firefighters Friday rejected a final contract offer from the Orange County Fire Authority, saying they are at an impasse after 2 1/2 months of negotiations.

“It’s not acceptable,” Stan Young, chief union negotiator for the Fire Authority’s 724 workers, said as he left talks that had lasted more than eight hours. “They said they were unwilling to move any more, but we’re preparing to compromise.”

Young said he will meet Monday with directors of Firefighters Union 3631 to decide what to do next. One possibility is to bring in a mediator.

Union members--firefighters, captains and paramedics--have been working without a contract since July 1 and say pay is the sticking point in the negotiations.

Fire Authority officials said they had hoped for an agreement Friday.

“We believe we have made a very fair offer, one that would allow our firefighters to be well-compensated,” Deputy Fire Chief Patrick L. Walker said in a prepared statement. “Our management and our board had hoped we could reach an agreement now, but the union was not interested in settling.”

The latest proposal would include a 14.65% increase in base pay by October 2002 and a one-time $2,000 bonus for each firefighter. The contract also would ensure that salaries never fall below the average of the three highest-paid fire departments in the county.

The Fire Authority serves more than 1 million Orange County residents in 20 cities and in unincorporated areas.