Something as seemingly simple as the definition of a firefighter is coming under scrutiny as Fort Worth prepares to establish its own fire-based EMS system.
After the City Council’s May vote to dissolve longtime North Texas EMS provider MedStar and move to a fire-based system, the city began looking at how best to bring MedStar EMTs and paramedics into the fold. In order to make that happen, representatives from the city, the fire department’s union and MedStar sat down July 12 to discuss needed changes to the collective bargaining agreement that governs fire employee rights. At the top of the list: tweaking how firefighters are defined.
It might seem like a technicality, but the definition has a real impact on which rights employees are afforded. The plan is for current MedStar EMTs and paramedics to serve in a single role — meaning they will exclusively respond to medical calls and leave the firefighting to existing dual-role employees. In order for the single role employees to get civil service protections under state law, they must be designated as firefighters in the collective bargaining agreement.
“It’s important to get this right,” District 2 Council member Carlos Flores said of the transition. “The details matter.” Flores, who led the city’s ad hoc committee on EMS services, attended the bargaining session as a spectator to remain up to date on the process.
Both the union and the city agree the definition of firefighter needs to be expanded. However, they’re still coming to terms on a number of other issues. If the switch to a fire-based EMS system fails, for example, the city wants the right to convert EMS employees to non-civil service positions, move them to another department or set up another EMS entity entirely.
Michael Glynn, president of the fire union IAFF Local 400, said he’s not thrilled about the proposal. But the purpose of bargaining, he said, is to lay cards out on the table — not necessarily to agree to everything each side proposes.
Both city management and the union agreed another issue that needs to be addressed is how to classify emergency dispatchers transferring from MedStar. Those positions could be civilianized, meaning they would not be included in IAFF 440’s bargaining unit, unlike current sworn firefighters working in the dispatch center.
In the 2022 bargaining period, IAFF 440 and the citydisagreed about whether to hire dispatchers as civilians. The union argued that firefighters in dispatch are more experienced and equipped to handle the stress of calls, while the city argued dispatch is one of the few areas in the fire department that doesn’t require a sworn employee.
The next bargaining session is scheduled for July 26, when both parties will continue to hash out needed adjustments to the agreement. Fitch & Associates, the consultant hired by Fort Worth to help guide the transition, will also attend the session to discuss potential consolidation strategies. Other considerations for the next few bargaining sessions could include overtime, seniority and vacation leave.
Several deadlines loom over the bargaining process, including passing the fiscal year 2025 budget in September. After more than a decade of MedStar providing EMS services without any subsidy from Fort Worth, the city is now on the hook financially for ensuring the fire-based system can successfully launch over the next year and a half.
“We’re heading into a budget year that’s gonna be a challenge,” assistant city manager Valerie Washington said.
The city is also in the midst of drafting service agreements with the other cities previously served by MedStar, such as Haslet and Saginaw. Some of the smaller cities have previously expressed concerns about how the transition will impact their own residents and budget process, although Fort Worth staff have emphasized that they will work with each city to come to a beneficial agreement.
Mark McDaniel, deputy city manager, said the cities are champing at the bit to see what getting service from Fort Worth’s fire-based system will cost them. City staff are near finalizing a service level agreement, he said.
While bargaining is ongoing, multiple city subcommittees are meeting to discuss capital needs, salary structures and promotions/classifications. Parallel to that work, the city is also working to improve its 911 call response times. That project has a targeted finish date of January 2025.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
