Tag Archives: Austin Firefighters Association
Wednesday, January 13, 2021 by Jo Clifton
Fire
Austin firefighters donate to protect pensions
The political action committee for Austin firefighters was busy the last month of 2020, donating more than $50,000 to Texas lawmakers. Their donations included $10,000 to Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), who was elected Tuesday to be speaker of the Texas…
Monday, August 17, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Parks
Neighbors of Bright Leaf worry about fire risk
After a City Council vote on July 29 allowing the city to take over management of Bright Leaf Preserve from the Austin Community Foundation, some residents worried about what that might mean for their Northwest Austin neighborhoods, especially in terms of…
Wednesday, December 4, 2019 by Jo Clifton
Fire
AFD, union still at odds over interlocal agreement
Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, and Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker are locked in a battle over whether the city should sign on to a new mutual aid agreement with emergency services districts in both Travis and…
Tuesday, July 30, 2019 by Jo Clifton
Fire
Two firefighters fired over ‘theft’ of exam
Fire Chief Joel Baker has fired two firefighters, Nicholas Schroeder and Anthony Stewart, who were attending classes on handling hazardous materials, after Schroeder allegedly stole a copy of the final exam and Stewart took photos of it. The class was…
Thursday, September 20, 2018 by Jo Clifton
City Hall
Firefighter wins battle with city
Austin firefighters won their battle to get the city to drop its lawsuit against one of their own, Lt. Carrie Stewart, who filed a claim for workers’ compensation after she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer in 2015. After…
Tuesday, October 3, 2017 by Jack Craver
Fire
Firefighters union touts increased diversity
Austin is far from having a fire department that reflects the diversity of the city, but it’s made significant strides since the U.S. Department of Justice sued the Austin Fire Department over its hiring practices. Days after clashing with a…
Friday, September 29, 2017 by Jo Clifton
Fire
Council OKs firefighters’ contract 7-3
City Council approved a five-year contract with the Austin Firefighters Association Thursday on a vote of 7-3, after a heated exchange between Council Member Ora Houston and Austin Firefighters Association President Bob Nicks. Houston criticized the firefighters association for not…
Thursday, August 24, 2017 by Jo Clifton
Fire
Fire Department overtime soars to $21 million
Overtime pay for firefighters at the Austin Fire Department will reach about $21 million by the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30 – a 206 percent increase since Fiscal Year 2013-14 – according to a report put out…
Wednesday, November 23, 2016 by Audrey McGlinchy
Public Safety
Little known on when public safety contract negotiations will start
Two of the city’s three public safety unions are willing to consider a one-year extension of their contracts with the city – but it might not be as simple as giving the go-ahead. Although negotiations for new contracts are set…
Thursday, May 26, 2016 by Jack Craver
Fire
City considers providing fire service to Travis County ESD4
After years of city annexations, Travis County Emergency Services District 4 (ESD4) should no longer have its own fire department, ESD4 Fire Chief David Bailey told the City Council Public Safety Committee on Monday. When it was founded as Travis County…
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 by Jack Craver
Fire
Fire Department says it needs more fire stations
The Public Safety Commission unanimously recommended a resolution Monday that would require the city manager to submit an annual report to City Council identifying areas of the city most in need of fire stations. If approved by Council, staff will…
Tuesday, June 23, 2015 by Audrey McGlinchy
Public Safety
Committee restarts discussion of fire and EMS merger
Members of the Public Safety Committee heard testimony Monday on the idea of merging the Austin Fire Department with Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services, but city staff and organization heads reiterated time and again that anything official is a long way…
Tuesday, May 12, 2015 by Elizabeth Pagano
City Hall
City, firefighters reach tentative agreement
After years of strife, the City of Austin and the Austin Firefighters Association successfully concluded the collective bargaining process Monday. Last November, City Council agreed to settle a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged discrimination in the…
Thursday, April 2, 2015 by Caleb Pritchard
City Council
Council delays fire department reclassification plan
A proposal to modify the Austin Fire Department’s leadership hierarchy has encountered headwinds at City Hall. City Council Member Don Zimmerman moved Thursday to prevent a vote on the resolution that proposes tweaking the department’s classification system, including removing several…
Monday, February 9, 2015 by Michael Kanin
Fire
Explainer: AFD, AFA, and the consent decree
Each week, the Explainer offers a closer look at stories we have been following. This week, we look at City Council action from last week that restarts negotiations between the Austin Firefighters Association and city management. It what amounts to…
Friday, February 6, 2015 by Jo Clifton
City Council
Council OKs restart of firefighter negotiations
As its first major action, the Austin City Council on Thursday approved a resolution directing city management to go back to the bargaining table with the Austin Firefighters Association. But it did not, as initially proposed, direct staff to stop…
Thursday, February 5, 2015 by Jo Clifton
Politics
Not all firefighters support pulling RFP
The president of the Austin African-American Firefighters Association told the Austin Monitor that the city would be making a mistake if it stops the RFP process for a plan to recruit new firefighters and returns to the negotiating table, as set…
Friday, January 23, 2015 by Jo Clifton
Austin
Union reps address Council on employment issues
City Council listened to representatives of the firefighters, police and EMS unions Thursday. Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, and his attorney took the lion’s share of the time to complain about the city’s failure to listen to…
Thursday, January 22, 2015 by Jo Clifton
Austin
Austin firefighters to again seek input on hiring
The Austin Firefighters Association will have an opportunity at this morning’s City Council meeting to voice concerns to the new Council about its lack of input on a new process for hiring fire cadets. The firefighters’ hope is that this Council…
