Posting Language
Title
Approve execution of a four-year Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Austin Firefighters Association relating to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment for certain employees of the Austin Fire Department. Funding: $5,913,706 is available in the General Fund Operating Budget. This item is related to Items #2 and #3.
De
Lead Department
Management Services
Fiscal Note
Funding in the amount of $5,913,706 is available in the General Fund Operating Budget. This item is related to Council Items which transfers the appropriation from the General Fund Operating Budget to the Austin Fire Department’s Operating Budget.
Prior Council Action:
September 28, 2017 - Council approved a prior collective bargaining agreement with the Austin Firefighters Association (AFA).
September 29, 2022 - Council approved an interim collective bargaining agreement with the AFA.
March 9, 2023 - Council approved an extension of the interim collective bargaining agreement with the AFA.
September 8, 2023 - Arbitration panel awarded the current collective bargaining agreement with the AFA.
For More Information:
Roxana Stevens, Deputy Labor Relations Officer, 512-978-0754.
Additional Backup Information:
In May 2014, Austin voters approved collective bargaining rights for firefighters under the provisions of Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 174. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was set to expire on September 30, 2025, but currently remains in effect pursuant to a limited holdover provision. Beginning in July 2025, the City and the Austin Firefighters Association (AFA) Local 975 entered into negotiations for a successor CBA. On September 26, 2025, the City and the AFA reached consensus on a tentative agreement for a successor CBA.
During a Council work session on November 18, 2025, Council Members expressed concerns regarding the tentative agreement and a proposed charter amendment supported by the AFA that raised issues related to staffing and when apparatuses/fires stations can be out of service. The City and the AFA returned to the bargaining table to negotiate these issues to include them in the Agreement. Through negotiation, the City and the AFA reached a new tentative agreement for a successor CBA that resolves the outstanding issues raised by the proposed charter amendment.
If approved by a majority of the Association membership and City Council, the tentative agreement will take effect on December 18, 2025, for a four-year period and will be effective through September 30, 2029. The AFA membership is expected to complete their vote on the proposed CBA on December 17, 2025. In the event that membership approves the proposed CBA, the proposed CBA is submitted for approval by Council, as required by the Texas Local Government Code.
The proposed CBA with the AFA will be provided as backup.
The proposed CBA contains strategic changes that enhance recruitment and operations, including these key provisions: the proposed Agreement addresses recruitment and retention; addresses competitiveness amongst comparable public sector fire departments including wages and hours of work, allows the Chief to appoint additional executive staff, including all Assistant Chiefs and Division Chiefs; authorizes the Chief to staff more positions with non-sworn employees; authorizes flexible and continuous hiring process approved by the Chief; allows a more streamlined and efficient promotional process; and has a plan for implementation of the “Austin Schedule,” which is a modified reduced work week fire operations shift schedule that will be staffed with a larger workforce of firefighters. The proposed Agreement also includes protections for the four-person staffing model reflected in City Ordinance No. 20181213-045 and an agreement from the AFA not to pursue a charter amendment or other change in law related to staffing and apparatuses/fire stations in service or out of service.