Long contract impasse ends for KCK firefighters, Unified Government

Three years after their last contract expired, firefighters in Kansas City, Kan., voted this week to accept a raise and other terms of a new contract that runs through 2018. Unified Government commissioners signed off Thursday night.

The sides reached agreement about a month after a fact-finder ruled on a dozen issues — including proposed sick leave changes, raises, and promotion and grievance procedures — that had created a bargaining impasse.

Management and union officials agreed to accept some of the fact-finder’s recommendations while settling others separately.

The new contract awards a 5 percent raise, part of it retroactive, in increments spread from 2015 to 2017. The overall raise matches what other employees of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan. already received for those years. That span marks the best three-year raise cycle for Unified Government workers in 10 years.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article129055224.html