Ocean City, Firefighters Union Contract Ratified

OCEAN CITY — The Town of Ocean City and its career firefighter-paramedic union formally ratified the new contract in a brief but cordial ceremony on Monday, and each vowed to move beyond the contentious negotiations, but it is clear some underlying tension remains.

Late last month, the town officials and the Career Firefighter Paramedics Association or Ocean City, or IAFF Local 4269, reached an agreement on a three-year contract that included concessions for both sides. Most Ocean City paramedics currently work in 24-hour shifts followed by 72 hours off. However, citing a variety of reasons including potential missed calls, delayed responses and national trends, the town and its fire department leadership remained adamant about phasing out the 24-72 shift rotation in favor of an alternative 12-hour shift or some hybrid of the two. The contract agreed upon represents a compromise with two 10-hour day shifts followed by two 14-hour night shifts.

Although the new contract was formally ratified Monday, the underlying tension regarding the shift rotation changes remains. For example, just two days after the parties reached the 11th-hour agreement, the IAFF submitted a petition seeking a referendum for binding arbitration.

At the formal signing on Monday, however, members of both parties were cordial for the most part and vowed to make the new contract work in the best interest of everyone. IAFF President Ryan Whittington said the negotiation process was long and not everyone got what they wanted.

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