Long Beach has reached tentative labor agreements with the Long Beach Firefighters Association and the Long Beach Lifeguards Association.<\/p>\n
Both labor agreements will provide salary increases for employees. The firefighters\u2019 agreement also includes incentives aimed at improving workforce productivity and skill levels, while the lifeguards\u2019 agreement includes incentives for improving workforce retention, according to city announcements released on Monday, Nov. 3.<\/p>\n
The three-year contracts for the Firefighters Association and Lifeguards Association will run retroactively from Oct. 1 of this year to Sept. 30, 2028. Contracts still need to be approved by the City Council, officials said.<\/p>\n
The agreement between Long Beach and the Firefighters Association adds Fire Department resources that will increase rescue availability and improve response times for the increased service calls from the city\u2019s constituents, officials said. As a result, the parties agreed to add a full-time paramedic rescue to meet the ongoing and evolving needs of the public.<\/p>\n
The tentative agreement includes increasing salaries 2% in the first year, 3% in the second year and 4% in the third year; adding one full-time paramedic rescue; increasing eligible employees for Firefighter II skill pay; and requiring active members of the association make mandatory contributions to their retired health saving account beginning on Oct. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis agreement marks a new era of partnership between the City and our members,\u201d Long Beach Firefighter Association President Lamont Nguyen said in a statement, \u201cbuilt on accountability, collaboration and a shared commitment to public safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt secures the staffing, equipment and resources our firefighters need to protect a growing Long Beach while ensuring the City continues to invest in its people,\u201d Nguyen added. \u201cTogether, we\u2019ve set a new standard that moves beyond \u2018doing more with less\u2019 toward a stronger, safer and more resilient community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Long Beach Firefighter Association represents 411 sworn employees; members of the association voted to ratify the agreement last month. Prior to reaching this agreement, city and association representatives had held seven meetings since May.<\/p>\n
The total estimated cost for the three-year agreement is $18.8 million for the general fund and $19 million for all other funds, according to the city announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis agreement reflects a balanced and forward-thinking approach that recognizes the critical and evolving role of our sworn Fire Department personnel,\u201d City Manager Tom Modica said in a statement. \u201cBy investing in the people who serve, we also invest in the safety, resilience and quality of life of everyone in Long Beach. I want to thank the FFA for their close partnership in reaching this agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lifeguards Association agreement, meanwhile, provides for salary increases and incentives aimed at improving workforce retention, including a new education pay for lifeguard non-careers to serve as a recruitment and retention incentive, according to the city\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
The tentative agreement includes general salary increases of 2% in the first year, 2% in the second year, and 3% in the third year; salary adjustments for the classifications of marine safety battalion chief, marine safety officer and marine safety rescue boat captain; and the new education pay for lifeguard non-careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are pleased to have reached an agreement with the City that supports our lifeguards,\u201d Lifeguards Association President Devon Beebe said in a statement, \u201cand ensures our ability to continue providing vital water safety services for the residents and visitors of Long Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lifeguards Association represents 211 employees, and members voted to ratify the agreement last month, officials said. Prior to reaching this agreement, the city and association representatives held six negotiation meetings since June.<\/p>\n
The total estimated cost for this three-year agreement is $1.62 million for all funds, according to the city\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong Beach\u2019s lifeguards are an essential part of what makes our city safe and welcoming,\u201d Modica said in a statement. \u201cTogether with LGA, we have reached an agreement that supports our lifeguards, advances their wellness and professional development and supports our ability to recruit and retain top talent that protects our beaches, waterways and community. Thank you to LGA for their collaboration in reaching this agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
The agreements will go before the Long Beach City Council for consideration and public discussion on Tuesday, Nov. 11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long Beach has reached tentative labor agreements with the Long Beach Firefighters Association and the Long Beach Lifeguards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,1071,23,131,133,132,137],"class_list":{"0":"post-39758","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-local-government","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-long-beach-headlines","13":"tag-long-beach-news","14":"tag-los-angeles-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}