HOUSTON — On Wednesday afternoon, officials with Mayor John Whitmire’s office and the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association said the new mayor ordered the city to end pending legal action against Houston firefighters.
Officials said Whitmire’s decision came “within the first five minutes” of a meeting between the new mayor and union officials over a years-long legal battle concerning pay.
The new mayor directed City Attorney Arturo Michel to withdraw an appeal challenging back pay between fiscal years 2018 through 2024.
“I want the City to remove itself from the court process as much as possible and focus on resolving this long-standing dispute as fairly and quickly as possible,” Whitmire said in a statement. “I stated repeatedly on the campaign trail and in my inaugural address that our first responders will not have to fear court action during the Whitmire Administration. I am following through on that promise.”
Houston firefighters have not had a contract since 2017, when negotiations between the union and then-Mayor Sylvester Turner hit an impasse, causing the latest contract to expire.
The former mayor had repeatedly said the city was offering what they could afford to pay. However, union officials said they’re losing firefighters to better-paying departments.
Both sides have since filed lawsuits, including over Proposition B, a ballot measure Houston voters approved in 2018 to pay firefighters the same as police.
On Dec. 14, 2023, a state district judge ruled both sides must start collective bargaining within 30 days.
“This is something that firefighters have wanted for about seven years now,” Rice University political science professor Mark Jones said.
Jones said the two sides will be negotiating back pay and salaries moving forward. He noted that Whitmire authored a new law requiring arbitration when collective bargaining between the City of Houston and its firefighters reaches an impasse.
“Because Mayor Whitmire has the trust of the firefighters, there’s probably no one better suited to engage in this negotiation because he can tell them realistically what the city can afford and what it cannot afford,” Jones said.
On Wednesday, Whitmire and HPFFA President Marty Lancton ordered their respective lead attorneys to start meeting this week and “remain in constant contact until there is agreement on a path forward.”
“Within 72 hours of taking office, Mayor Whitmire is moving forward to implement the promises he made to Houston firefighters during the campaign,” Lancton said in a statement. “After eight years of acrimony, we are finally headed in the right direction. It is hard to express how much it means to Houston firefighters and their families to have a leader who respects them and will follow through on what he says.”
In 2021, City Council approved a plan by then-Mayor Turner to give firefighters an 18% pay raise over three years using federal COVID relief money.
At the time, Lancton said while firefighters appreciated the money, it was a “bonus” funded by temporary dollars instead of a permanent raise within a binding contract.