AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Fire Battalion Chief Bob Nicks said one of his firefighters is leaving because they can't afford to be a firefighter anymore. It's a decision several firefighters within the department are facing – and an issue Nicks hoped a new labor contract would help fix.
"Firefighters are really hurting right now," Nicks said.
The City of Austin and the Austin Firefighters Association have reached an agreement, which was decided through an arbitration panel after both sides failed to come to a compromise in August.
Pay was at the center of why negotiations didn't pan out – and even with the agreed 4% base wage increase, it's not what firefighters anticipated.
"They can't afford to make their house payments anymore. They were hoping for bigger raises. We were certainly hoping to get that for them," Nicks said.
Nicks, who has been a Battalion Chief for 37 years and has been the president for the Austin Firefighters Association for 14, said that eight years ago, the department was one of the highest paid in the state. Now, they're not even the highest paid in Travis County.
Nicks recalled when he came into the department in 1986 and had to get a second job. He mentioned there was a time at the department around 2005 to 2006 where that didn't have to happen.
But years later, history is repeating itself.
"You've seen this degrade in our our salaries, degrade in our stature and draw in recruiting ability, lowest paid public safety employee, lowest paid group for the last 14 years in the city of Austin. And then you get hit with high cost of living," Nicks said.
One promising item in the contract is that firefighters' workweek will be shortened by one hour.
Firefighters work 53 hours a week. The reduction would bring that down to 50.4 hours a week, according to Nicks.
"It's not a gigantic change to our schedule. It's not a gigantic expense, but it'd be life changing for the firefighters," Nicks said. "It's a big deal."
The contract will run through Sept. 30, 2025.
Nicks said although the association couldn't get firefighters what they wanted, he appreciates what the arbitrators were able to accomplish for the time being.
The next step will be for them to keep focus on the workweek reduction and work toward getting firefighters parental leave.
"It's not going to provide that much relief, but it will at least stop them from further bleeding financially," Nicks said.