\n Fort Worth Approves $54M Fire, EMS Contract | Image by Fort Worth Fire Department\ufeff\/Facebook <\/p>\n
Fort Worth approved a new four-year labor contract Tuesday for firefighters and emergency medical services personnel, ending months of negotiations and setting new pay increases that begin October 1.<\/p>\n
The Fort Worth City Council voted 10-0, with one member absent, to approve<\/a> a new collective bargaining agreement with the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association Local 440.<\/p>\n A city analysis estimates the agreement will cost roughly $54 million over its four-year term.<\/p>\n The contract takes effect October 1 and runs through September 30, 2030, replacing the current agreement that expires September 30. The City of Fort Worth previously confirmed<\/a> the expiration date of the existing agreement.<\/p>\n Under the new deal, firefighters and EMS employees will receive a 5% across-the-board pay increase in fiscal year 2027.<\/p>\n The compensation package also includes annual step increases and additional market adjustments during the contract term, with some classification-based adjustments beginning in fiscal year 2027 and later increases varying by rank and classification.<\/p>\n The agreement follows months of negotiations between city officials and Local 440 after the union declared an impasse in July.<\/p>\n The two sides later resumed negotiations and reached a tentative agreement in September.<\/p>\n Contract Follows Months Of Negotiations<\/p>\n The tentative agreement outlined before the council vote called for a 5% across-the-board raise for firefighters and EMS employees, along<\/a> with annual step increases and additional market-based pay adjustments, per the Fort Worth Report.<\/p>\n The four-year deal followed negotiations over wages, staffing, workload, benefits, and other workplace provisions.<\/p>\n Shaffer said the two sides ultimately found areas of compromise after months of bargaining.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really proud of what we\u2019re able to deliver,\u201d Shaffer told<\/a> the Fort Worth Report before the ratification vote. \u201cNothing\u2019s ever perfect. It is bargaining, there is working together, there is some compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n The negotiations came during a difficult budget year for Fort Worth.<\/p>\n Earlier in the bargaining process, the city said the union had proposed a package valued at roughly $152 million, while the city had offered approximately $40 million in new investments and what it described as a 20% salary increase over four years.<\/p>\n The final agreement falls between those earlier proposals, with a city analysis<\/a> estimating its cost at approximately $54 million over the four-year term.<\/p>\n Fort Worth\u2019s EMS System Has Expanded<\/p>\n The new agreement also comes little more than a year after Fort Worth brought emergency medical services in-house.<\/p>\n As previously reported<\/a> by The Dallas Express, the Fort Worth Fire Department took over ambulance operations from MedStar in July 2025.<\/p>\n The move followed the city\u2019s decision to replace its long-standing MedStar model with an EMS system housed within the fire department.<\/p>\n According to the City of Fort Worth, city officials and Local 440 previously negotiated<\/a> changes to the collective bargaining agreement to provide civil service status to former MedStar employees joining the department as emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and telecommunications personnel.<\/p>\n The fire department absorbed hundreds of MedStar employees as part of that transition.<\/p>\n Fort Worth formally became the licensed EMS provider for the city and participating member communities on July 1, 2025.<\/p>\n