Fort Worth City Council voted Tuesday to approve a four-year, $54 million collective bargaining agreement ratified by the city’s firefighters and emergency medical services personnel that calls for pay raises among other changes.
The city voted 10-0 for the contract with council member Jeanette Martinez absent. The agreement includes across-the-board wage increases, incentive pay and overtime, according to a copy of the ratified agreement.
A majority of the rank-and-file members of the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association Local 440, the union representing the firefighters and EMS, ratified the agreement last week, according to the city’s summary published with the agenda item.
“It took a lot for us to get to where we are to make sure that we had a contract that was beneficial to our fire departments, our dual roles, and our single roles, and also beneficial to the city as well,” council member Elizabeth Beck said. “I am personally grateful for all the hard work that you have all put into reaching this contract. I think it’s one of the best contracts that we’ve seen.”
The contract governs the working conditions and standards for firefighters and EMS personnel.
The ratified agreement includes continued investments in training and equipment, compensation for leave benefits, overtime provisions, incentives to support responsible sick leave usage and greater flexibility to hire personnel to maintain appropriate staffing levels during employee absences.
The estimated cost of the contract is $54.8 million over the course of four years. When broken down, the contract provides $14.6 million for fiscal 2027, $16.8 million for fiscal 2028, $10 million for fiscal 2029, and $13.4 million for fiscal 2030, according to FWLab. The FWLab is a department in the city that uses data analytics to develop and maintain the city’s operating and capital budget.
The 2027 fiscal year begins Thursday. The agreement calls for a 5% across-the-board raise for firefighters and EMS employees for the year, plus “market” raises based on classifications. It also calls for across-the-board raises in fiscal 2028, 2029 and 2030, and annual step pay raises in each of those years.
The market raises for fiscal 2027 include 2.1% for firefighters, 1% for engineers, 5% for EMT personnel, 15% for lead paramedics, 7% for EMS supervisors, 2% for EMS managers and 2% for EMS battalion chiefs.
The relief ratio, or extra crew needed when personnel are on vacation, increases to 40% from 20% under the new agreement.
The 440 declared in July it had reached an impasse in negotiations, accusing the city of not bargaining in good faith. But, after the last collective bargaining meeting on Sept. 18, Zac Shaffer, president of IAFF 440, said both sides were able to find a compromise after expressing their concerns and needs.
“Throughout negotiations, both sides of the table worked tirelessly to deliver a solution that allowed us to continue providing excellent fire and EMS service while also being fair to the city and valuing employees,” Shaffer said in a statement to the Report. “The 440 is proud of this contract. It came after countless hours of research and debate, but we found a fair, common sense solution that is beneficial to all parties.”
Last year, the city took its emergency medical services in-house, moving MedStar services to the fire department under an agreement with 14 other member cities. The fire department absorbed 650 MedStar employees.
The new contract will run from Oct. 1, 2026, to Sept. 30, 2030.
Kamal Morgan is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at kamal@fortworthreport.org.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:24 a.m. Sept. 30 to include a statement from the president of IAFF 440.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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