What is Collective Bargaining?

As fire fighters dedicated to protecting the lives and property of Irving residents, we understand the importance of working together effectively and efficiently. One of the most productive tools we have to ensure our safety, fair treatment, and optimal working conditions is collective bargaining. Here’s why:

1. Enhanced Safety Standards: Collective bargaining allows us to negotiate for better safety equipment, training, and protocols, ensuring that we can perform our duties as safely as possible. This not only protects us but also enhances our ability to serve the community effectively.

2. Improved Working Conditions: Negotiating as a collective unit allows us to address issues such as shift schedules, leave policies, and apparatus conditions. Better working conditions lead to increased job satisfaction and performance, benefiting the entire community.

3. Voice in Decision-Making: Collective bargaining provides a formal platform for us to communicate our needs and concerns to city officials. This ensures that our perspectives are considered in decisions that affect our work and lives.

4. Professional Development: By negotiating for ongoing training and educational opportunities, we can stay updated on the latest firefighting techniques and technologies, ensuring that we provide the highest level of service to the community.

5. Solidarity and Unity: Collective bargaining strengthens our unity as a team. When we stand together, we can support each other better and foster a more collaborative and supportive work environment.

By embracing collective bargaining, we can achieve a more equitable, safe, and productive work environment, enabling us to serve the Irving community with even greater dedication and effectiveness.

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 174 outlines the Collective Bargaining process and rights for employees of many Texas cities.

Collective Bargaining is a process by which employers and employees sit down to discuss the terms and conditions of employment. These discussions lead to a Collective Bargaining agreement (employment contract) that outlines wages, hours, and working conditions. Through collaboration and mutual respect, employers and employees can developa Collective Bargaining agreement that is reflective of the shared values of the community while delivering high-quality services to the citizens.

Collective Bargaining leads to increased safety for residents and service enhancements. Fire fighters are public safety advocates and experts. We are committed to delivering the highest quality fire and emergency medical services to the residents and taxpayers. Collective Bargaining gives the public safety experts, your fire fighters, a voice in how these services are delivered to our community. Community safety is our number one priority, and we will continually advocate for the highest quality services for the citizens. Elected and appointed officials come and go; Irving Fire Fighters will always be the voice of public safety for our community.  

By its very nature, Collective Bargaining promotes transparency. Local government transparency will often lead to increased efficiency and is always good public policy.

Collective Bargaining recruits, retains, and engages employees. The goal of Collective Bargaining is to ensure that the compensation and benefits provided to firefighters are competitive and fair to both the city and the employee, and to ensure our community has enough highly trained firefighters to protect our community. The healthiest workplaces are those in which employees are valued, respected, and feel that shared values exist across the organization. Through Collective Bargaining, employees know their voice is heard and they are partners in a collaborative decision-making process.

No. Texas law prohibits any organization from requiring membership in any employee association, union, or group. Collective Bargaining does NOT change that.

In fact, Texas law guarantees that employees who choose to not join their respective employee association shall receive the same Bargaining opportunities, benefits, and wages as every other employee in the same class.
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Under the Texas Collective Bargaining law the City of Irving would be required to recognize the group chosen by the majority of Irving fire fighters as their exclusive Bargaining representative.
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The City would then be required to meet and bargain in good faith with the chosen group to negotiate over mandatory subjects of Bargaining such as wages, benefits, hours, and mutually agreed upon working conditions.
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The law requires that the city work to offer wages that are commensurate with similar skilled work in comparable industries within the private sector. This does not obligate the city to any particular wage but rather ensures that the city will bargain to fairly accomplish one of the primary goals of the Texas legislature in drafting the law, that cities can attract, hire, and retain the best and brightest.
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The City of Irving would retain management rights to set broader department policies and directives regarding the operations of the Fire Department.

There are no explicit costs associated with the implementation of Collective Bargaining.
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Most Collective Bargaining cities and fire departments across Texas negotiate contracts and agreements with their staff attorney, city managers, Fire Chiefs, and HR.  Most cities do not employ or hire outside firms to bargain contracts but rather assign members of the council, City Manager's Office staff, or HR personnel with a representative from the Fire Chief's office.  Most Texas fire fighters' associations with Collective Bargaining do not hire outside counsel, contractors, or attorneys to bargain on their behalf either. Collective Bargaining is a Collective process to meet in the middle through honest negotiation and transparent budget analysis.

Under current state law each party has the option to either remove the issue of disagreement from the contract and pass the remainder of the contract or to pursue third-party, neutral arbitration.

As a measure of last resort, a lawsuit may be filed to compel a court to weigh in on certain matters of the contract. However, this process is rare, expensive, and usually an inefficient solution to disagreement.

Fire fighters and cities across Texas have found success in establishing a "binding arbitration" clause in their first contract. This simple, mutually agreed upon article builds in a safeguard to any disagreement and brings in a random, neutral arbitrator to rule on issues that cannot be reasonably negotiated.