HOUSTON — A tentative agreement was reached to resolve the years-long contract dispute between the City of Houston and its firefighters.
According to the City of Houston, the tentative agreement will resolve all outstanding pay issues for Houston firefighters dating back to 2017.
"It's going to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars," said Houston Mayor John Whitmire. "And quite frankly, I don't want to put a final price tag on it right now."
Houston firefighters haven't been under contract since 2017, when pay raise negotiations between the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association and former Mayor Sylvester Turner hit an impasse, causing the latest contract to expire.
The former mayor repeatedly said the city was offering what they could afford to pay. However, union officials said they were losing firefighters to better-paying departments.
Both sides filed lawsuits, including over Prop B, a ballot measure Houston voters approved in 2018 to pay firefighters the same as police.
Mayor Whitmire campaigned on fixing the fight between Houston firefighters and the city, and just three days into office, he kept his promise by ordering the city legal department to end all pending litigation against Houston firefighters and initiate negotiations.
“During my campaign, I committed to Houstonians that I would resolve this issue beginning on my first day in office," Whitmire said. "I am pleased that we have reached this tentative agreement within the first two months. I will ask City Council members and all Houstonians to support this arrangement once final details are settled with our partners at the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association.”
Whitmire said each side made important compromises to reach this tentative agreement.
“This is historic,” HPFFA President Patrick M. “Marty” Lancton said. “Mayor Whitmire promised we would get this done by the end of February, and he has kept that promise. In just seven weeks, we have resolved a dispute the previous administration kicked down the road for eight years. It is amazing to witness what happens when leadership is unafraid to do the right thing.”
Whitmire said his team is putting the final touches on the deal and will reveal more details at a later date.