Board of Aldermen 6-10-2020 Page 9
So again, | totally understand the situation we are in, | am taxpayer, | have been for many, many years. |
plan on being one for many more years. But at the end of the day, the question for me is, when is the right
time to do the right thing for the Nashua Fire Fighters. So | appreciate you giving me the opportunity to
speak, | am truly passionate about this organization because this organization has been so good to me and
my family.
Again, we are a shining star in the New England Region and far beyond and we are because we have
support from our community and we have good employees who do a fantastic job for us every day who are
not looking, they are not looking to get anything they don’t deserve, because they fully deserve it. So | ask
you, you have a tough decision before you, again | fully understand that and | just ask you to please, really
thing about the implications of this contract and think about the good things that your Fire Fighters do in our
community, every single day. Thank you.
Chairman Dowd
Thank you, Chief. Mr. Davidson, did you want to add something to the Chief's statements, or do you want
to wait until Public Comment.
Don Davidson, Nashua Fire Commissioner
The comment part may be appropriate if that fits the system.
Chairman Dowd
Ok, is there anyone else on the City side that wants to comment? OK and unless somebody has an
objection, | am going to ask that the President of the Nashua Fire & Rescue, if he would like to say anything
at this point or wait for public comment?
John McAllister, Nashua Fire & Rescue
The Chief hit a lot of good points right on. This contract has been negotiated: we’ve been in negotiations
for this for over a year now. Local 789 sent a letter of intent to the City and we started negotiations back in
March of 2019. It took that long before this Local stood firm on some of the goals that we wanted to
accomplish here. Those goals that we wanted to accomplish, as the Chief had mentioned, were to close
the gap in pay that our members currently have in reference to our brothers and sisters in the Police
Department. And again, | do not begrudge them, they are worth every penny that they make; but so aren't
our members.
As the Chief had stated, for four years now we have been dealing with opioid crisis in the City head on. Our
members are on the frontline. Four years ago our working conditions changed for the members of the
Local 789. We didn’t bat an eye; we took the challenge and we accepted it and | think our members have
done a fantastic job. Many lives have been saved and many people have fought the addiction and they
have come out on the other end. But our members have not been compensated for that. Four years a
change in working conditions and we haven't received any type of benefit for that. So that’s why we would
stood firm on the percentages that we are looking for.
Not too long ago this Board approved the contract for the Police Supervisors for 3% over a 4-year deal.
We are asking for 1/2 % more. We are asking for 72% more due to Safe Stations, due to our involvement in
that process. Over the past, as the Chief had mentioned, it is never a good time for the Fire Fighters. At
the end of March we finally came to a deal after two mediations. We had mediations for over 6 hours with a
private mediator, two separate occasions. And then we filed for fact finding. But at the last minute we went
back to the table and we were able to successfully come out with the agreement that you have before you
tonight. That’s a fair deal. It’s a fair deal for the City; it’s a fair deal for our members. As the Chief had said,
it's never a good time for the Fire Fighters. We come out at the end of February with that agreement and
then — Bam — COVID-19 hits us unexpectedly. Nobody saw this coming, it’s not our fault, it is nobody’s
fault.
