El Paso Firefighters Contract With The City Not a Done Deal Yet

The contract between an El Paso firefighters union and the City of El Paso is still up in the air, but the details as to why have not been revealed.

Voters approved three propositions dealing with the firefighters contract on Saturday. A pay raise, lower insurance premiums, and giving a second chance to firefighters who fail a drug test, were all passed, and union President Joe Tellez said he thought that meant the union’s contract would be set for the next three years.

But at yesterday’s City council meeting, City Attorney Sylvia Firth said there are still some issues that need to be settled. The City isn't commenting on what those issues are, but Tellez says the issue is language the City wants to include in the contract that wasn’t on the ballot and not approved by voters on Saturday.

Tellez also said the union wants only the items voters approved to appear in their contract. There was no comment on the issue from City Attorney Firth, so it’s not known when this issue will be resolved.