Fire Fighters Ink Largest Contract in Local Union History

July 18, 2007 -- The Howard County, Maryland Council has voted in favor of a new four-year deal with Howard County, MD Local 2000 that gives fire fighters a 6 percent increase each July 1 and an additional $250 annual physical fitness allowance. The agreement was ratified in May by 93 percent of voting members.

“County Executive Ken Ulman has been a true friend of the fire fighters and all public safety employees,” says Richard Ruehl, president of Local 2000. “He learned about our lagging salaries and work hours while serving a term as councilman before he was elected Executive last November. He vowed to take the necessary steps towards making us competitive again, and he followed through on that promise. He is a man of his word, and we are grateful.”

County Executive Ulman notes, “I am proud of our record-level commitment to public safety in this year’s budget, and I am especially proud of our strong commitment to the men and women who risk their lives to keep us safe. I believe we negotiated a fair agreement which will help make Howard County more competitive in recruiting and retaining the best fire fighters and make it more affordable for our fire fighters to live here in Howard County and be part of the community which they work so hard to protect.”

Leading the effort on the County Council was chairman Calvin Ball, a former fire fighter and member of Local 2000. He understands the needs of Howard County’s fire fighters and worked hard to make every member of the Council comfortable with the terms of the contract. "It’s always a pleasure and honor to work with and for those who rush in when everyone else rushes out,” says Ball. “Serving our community is a team effort and, although negotiating and approving contracts can be challenging, as a former brother in service and current brother in spirit, I am proud that we did it together."

In the end, all five members of the Council – all of whom are freshman Council members – voted in favor of the new deal, much to the satisfaction of several union members who came out for the vote on the historic contract. “Each of the Council members understood our situation, notes Ruehl. “Despite some of their concerns and worries, they all did the right thing and started the ball rolling towards returning Howard County to a competitive balance with our surrounding jurisdictions.”

The members of Local 2000 had been looking forward to the recently completed negotiations since election night last November. Led by the members of the Candidate Selection Committee that spent much of 2006 attending fundraisers and events for nearly every candidate for Council and Executive from both parties, the union’s endorsed candidates swept the local government races.

“Even before we had gone to bed on election night, we knew that we had swept the elections,” Ruehl recalls. “Our Council candidates, including a Republican and four Democrats, and the Democratic County Executive candidate all won handily. It was a great night for our union.”

In addition, a Police/Fire Binding Arbitration Referendum that Local 2000 and the Police Officers union had been working on together for more than a year was passed by 79 percent of the residents. The legislation to make Binding Arbitration for Police/Fire the law in the county has been introduced with passage expected in the fall.