More contract negotiations between the Tallahassee Professional Firefighters and the city of Tallahassee are underway. But unlike previous fractious negotiations, the involved parties say they are making good progress this time around.
In an email sent to city commissioners by City Manager Reese Goad, the elected officials were informed that the lead negotiator for the three-year contract indicated to Fire Chief Gene Sanders that “he is very confident in a positive outcome.”
Joey Davis, the firefighter labor union’s president, said he spoke to people on the union’s negotiating team and they said the city’s assessment is an “exaggeration,” but Davis admitted he does feel there is “good movement in what they’ve put on the table.”
The city seems more willing to move monetarily than before, Davis said.
These negotiations for a three-year contract began in April amid a contentious negotiation for a separate one-year contract. The two sides went back and forth over a year and endured a bitter impasse until the city commission brought negotiations to an end with a 3-2 vote to take a special magistrate’s recommendation.