The Tallahassee Professional Firefighters and the city of Tallahassee met for another round of contract negotiations Monday, and although bargaining leaders thought things looked promising last week on a quick deal over firefighter pay, the session ended without any sort of resolution.
The city offered raises over the course of three years ranging from a 3% to 10.5% increase based on rank, according to Fire Chief Gene Sanders, who is lead negotiator for the city.
“I feel that negotiations are moving in the right direction,” Sanders said. “I feel that we are close.”
The union polled its members over the weekend asking if they’d accept the city’s offer, among other questions. The poll received 190 responses, but the union leaders refused to share results during the Monday morning meeting.
David Morrison, the lead negotiator for the firefighters, told the Tallahassee Democrat the poll was extremely close but “wasn’t strong in either direction.”
Morrison didn’t directly answer questions about which side narrowly won the union’s support because he said having the results in their pocket “is to our advantage.”