Why is there a salary deadlock between Kings County and its firefighters?

KINGS COUNTY, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Kings County and the Kings County Firefighters Association are at a standstill as they try to negotiate firefighters’ wages. As of Friday, both sides say the other is pushing misinformation and misunderstandings over how much firefighters make per hour and how much of a wage boost has been offered.

The Kings County Firefighters Association says they are frustrated and they say Kings County has only bargained with them for three months over the last 10 months.

“We had to wait six months for their compensation study,” Kings County Firefighters Association President Ed Rhyman said. “After that, we had to wait another three weeks for their negotiator.”

Carolyn Leist with Kings County human resources says Kings County has faced several technical issues and that the study being conducted by a third party is still incomplete.

“It was supposed to only be for a year, but we knew it was probably going to be closer to a year and a half,” Leist said.

Leist says, despite delays with the study, the County has worked with firefighters and provided side letter agreements while the study is finished. The side letter agreements include a 1.5% pay increase outside of negotiations, a recruitment retention bonus, and an additional half-holiday for Christmas Eve.

Firefighters say they are grateful for the county’s 1.5% pay increase and the half-holiday, but the County should not have included the recruitment retention bonus as a bargaining chip since the funds for that bonus came from the federal government.

Firefighters have said low entry-level wages are why they can’t retain and recruit.

In a recent press release to the media, Kings County officials disputed the firefighters’ claim that fast-food workers make more than firefighters at an entry-level position. Kings County officials cited that the base salary for a fast-food worker (assuming they work 40 hours a week at $20 an hour) is $41,600 and a starting firefighter makes $54,104 at least.

However, Kings County Firefighters Association Treasurer Dolly Justin-Silveria says that annual salary figure is based on firefighters working a 56-hour work week, not a 40-hour work week, making their hourly starting rate still $18.58.

Both groups agree that the impasse is unfortunate, and the sooner it ends the better. Both groups also assure the public that the services will not be affected regardless of the stalemate.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.