Board of Aldermen 6-23-2020 Page 7
From: Jim Donchess, Mayor
Re: Coronavirus Disease COVID-19
There being no objection, President Wilshire accepted the communications and placed them on file.
PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT RELATIVE TO ITEMS EXPECTED TO BE ACTED UPON THIS
EVENING
President Wilshire
Now we have a 15 minute Public Comment Period. Those of you that want to speak, if you could raise
your hand or get my attention? Anyone?
John
| am raising my hand, | think.
President Wilshire
Ok, John?
John McAllister, IAFF Local 789
Good evening, President Wilshire. Thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. Good evening to the
Mayor and the Board of Aldermen. | am here tonight to speak on a Resolution before you this evening of
the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of Nashua and Local 789, Nashua Firefighters.
Alderwoman Lu, | appreciate that question that you had just asked the Mayor and | would like to just say
that one of the most important infrastructures or benefits to the City, any City, would be the employees that
are employed there. And that’s not just the firefighters, | am talking about the teachers, the Police Officers,
the DPW Workers, all of them. And it’s about time that the City of Nashua invests in those employees.
We started this negotiation back in March of 2019, we finally came to a tentative agreement with the City of
Nashua, yes the City of Nashua because they were across the table from us. We are negotiating with them
in good faith and we finally came to an agreement the end of January / beginning of February. | ask one
question tonight after speaking to a few of you and listening to the comments this evening. If there was so
much respect for the firefighters in the City of Nashua, why did it take us almost a year to come up with this
agreement? | understand the Mayor stated earlier that the offer on the table was 11% but quite frankly the
members of the negotiating team weren’t ready to just accept 11%, we felt as though we wanted more, we
deserved more, our member deserved more.
We have been on the front lines of this pandemic, we’ve been on the front lines of anything that the City
throws at us. We are asking for a fair wage, fair for the City of Nashua as well as the employees of Local
789. | urge you all to do the right and vote in favor of this contract this evening. Thank you.
President Wilshire
Anyone else, public comment? Chief Rhodes?
Brian Rhodes, Nashua Fire Chief
Good evening, Madam President, Honorable Board, Mr. Mayor. Just to be perfectly clear, the decision to
end the Safe Station Program was my decision with my command staff based upon the rules of
engagement, sort to speak that had changed. Our task our charge is to provide public safety to the citizens
who are taxpayers of the City of Nashua.
