UPDATE: 2/6/15 3:45 p.m.
Austin City Council, Austin Fire Department and the Austin Firefighters Association took the first step in creating a compromise for hiring a diverse workforce of firefighters. City Council passed a measure Feb. 5 that brings all three groups back to the table after almost six years of being unable to agree on collective bargaining or contract terms. An initial proposal would have eliminated a request for proposal, or RFP, that asks third parties to propose their mediation services during the hiring process. Part of the Feb. 5 agreement also ensures that diversity will be a focus when hiring firefighters. “The things that are the most important to us whether we’re the labor side or the management side is No. 1 that we take good care of those firefighters and that everyday every single one of those firefighters goes home," Austin Fire Chief Fire Rhoda Mae Kerr said. "The second is that we provide the best service that we can to the community and we realize that we can’t do No. 2 without doing No. 1."The Austin Fire Department’s hiring and salary-increase procedures could be changed Feb. 5 by Austin City Council in an attempt by the council to prevent practices some fear could result in racial discrimination. Council will consider a resolution during its Feb. 5 meeting that, if implemented, will require AFD's bargained hiring process to adhere to the City Council’s goals of racial equity. The resolution would also prevent 1 percent salary increases that have already been budgeted to instead be spent on other areas. In addition, the council measure calls for increased efforts to hire more women and “applicants of color,” according to the resolution. Councilman Gregorio Casar brought the resolution to council’s attention in a Jan. 31 message posted to City Council's publicly accessible message board. “In my view, our fire department clearly lacks diversity, and this is a serious problem," Casar said on the message board. "Furthermore, we face a deteriorating relationship with the Austin Firefighters’ Association Local 975, the democratically elected representatives of our firefighters. I’m committed to doing our best to tackle both of these issues." According to the resolution, less than 5 percent of Austin’s firefighters are African-American and less than 20 percent are Hispanic. While the resolution stems from concerns Casar and other council members share about Austin Fire Department racial inequality, the city of Austin and local AFA have been unable to agree on terms for collective bargaining or a new contract since 2009, limiting the city’s ability to oversee AFD's hiring processes, according to the resolution. If an agreement can still not be reached with the firefighters' association as outlined in the resolution, City Council intends to give City Manager Marc Ott the authority to work out an agreement with AFA, according to the resolution.
