The Austin Firefighters Association is seeking more attention to the safety issues facing its membership, which were discussed in part last week during City Council budget sessions. The AFA had planned to hold a press conference Monday to publicize issues…
Looking ahead to a tough budget year, City Council will have to choose between spending on firefighters, emergency medical services, parks maintenance, homeless outreach and improving animal services, among others. Wednesday’s budget presentation did nothing to alleviate budget concerns, with…
After years of heated negotiations, and about a year without a contract in place, Austin firefighters finally have an agreement with the city in place. The contract, which is effective immediately, comes from an three-member arbitration panel. Unlike a normal…
Austin Firefighters Association President Bob Nicks has made no secret of how angry he is with city negotiators. The union and those negotiators could not reach an agreement on a labor contract, and the matter must now be decided at…
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The city of Austin’s Law Department has stopped participating in an arbitration hearing with the Austin Firefighters Association, and City Council will have the chance on Thursday to approve that decision or direct its lawyers to continue the process. Council…
An ice storm last month prompted fears of a Winter Storm Uri redux, with widespread power outages, and concerns among city officials, including about the leadership of since-terminated City Manager Spencer Cronk. Now, fire and EMS union representatives have joined…
With contracts between the city and Austin’s three public safety associations set to expire in September, the Public Safety Commission heard presentations and perspectives from each of the groups and the Austin Justice Coalition on Monday. The Austin EMS Association,…
The political action committee for the Austin EMS employees union has voted to join the Austin Firefighters Association PAC and AFSCME Local 1624, the civilian employees union, in opposing Proposition A on the November ballot. Save Austin Now, the PAC…
Austin voters will likely have a lot to think about before going to the polls on May 1. City Clerk Jannette Goodall has already certified two petitions – one from Austinites for Progressive Reform and another from the Austin Firefighters Association…
The political action committee for Austin firefighters was busy the last month of 2020, donating more than $50,000 to Texas lawmakers. Their donations included $10,000 to Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), who was elected Tuesday to be speaker of the Texas…
After a City Council vote on July 29 allowing the city to take over management of Bright Leaf Preserve from the Austin Community Foundation, some residents worried about what that might mean for their Northwest Austin neighborhoods, especially in terms of…
In the aftermath of several public sexual harassment cases, Austin EMS and the police and fire departments are updating their sexual harassment policies to create consistency across city emergency services. The action comes in the wake of Austin Fire Department…
