MELROSE — Mayor Jen Grigoraitis announced in a release this week that, after 18 months of negotiations, she has reached a new agreement on behalf of the City of Melrose with the union representing the uniformed firefighters of the Melrose Fire Department. 

“The agreement provides increased wages and other benefits for the city’s dedicated front-line first responders and equips the city with new tools to address chronic firefighter and paramedic staffing shortages. 

“Melrose firefighters are represented in collective bargaining by Local 1617, International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO,” the release states. “The new three-year contract covers the Fiscal Years 2024, 2025 and 2026. It includes one year of retroactive pay increases for FY 24. The approximately $500,000 in retroactive pay for FY 24 will be funded out of the city’s Contract Stabilization Fund. The Melrose City Council Appropriations and Oversight Committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of this appropriation on Monday night. 

“The final vote on these retroactive payments is slated for next week’s July 15 City Council meeting. 

“ ‘Thank you to all the participants involved in these deliberations for steering a productive and collaborative negotiation process for this important contract, which will help to address the significant staffing concerns in our Fire Department,’ said Mayor Grigoraitis. ‘I’m proud that, since I’ve taken office, the city is prioritizing effective leadership and a fair and equitable contract for the Melrose Fire Department.’ 

“ ‘Melrose firefighters have worked diligently over the last year and a half to negotiate a fair and equitable contract, and we’re very pleased to have reached this strong agreement as a result of mutual effort with our colleagues at City Hall,’ said John McCarron, President of Local 1617.” 

Highlights of the agreement include: 

• Cost of living salary increases in the amounts of 2.25% for FY 24, 2% for FY 25 and 2% for FY 26, 

• The addition of an Assistant Fire Chief position, pending available funding
• An Ambulance Duty wage incentive for Firefighter-Paramedics, and
• The establishment of a working group to discuss comprehensive Fire Department policies and procedures.
The release continues, “Although the previous collective bargaining agreement between the city of Melrose and Local 1617 expired in 2023, negotiations were conducted without the need for involvement by the state’s Joint Labor-Management Committee, other outside mediators, or legally binding arbitration.
“Throughout the course of contract negotiations, the city and Local 1617 also reached consensus on matters outside of the scope of the contract, including the implementation of Paramedic-Basic level Advanced Life Support (ALS) and training requirements for staff. This agreement should enable the city ambulance service to run more consistently and help to address the severe shortage of paramedics in the current Civil Service hiring pool.”