CALDWELL — After a three-month negotiation process, the Caldwell City Council and Caldwell’s local firefighter union organization found common ground regarding a collective labor agreement that hopes to provide a stronger, healthier, more competitive and more sustainable fire department.
At Tuesday evening’s council meeting, city council voted unanimously on the three-year collective labor agreement between the Caldwell Professional Firefighters International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1056, which encompasses individual union members of the Caldwell Fire Department and is also an affiliate of the Professional Firefighters of Idaho.
The term of the collective labor agreement will take effect from Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2029.
The negotiations were on a collective bargaining agreement that supports both the city’s operational and fiscal responsibilities while ensuring firefighters can have competitive recruitment and retention, according to the memorandum’s summary statement.
The approved agreement comes after the city faced a tight budget season within its public safety funds for the next fiscal year, with plans to potentially consider asking voters to transition the fire department into a fire district and become its own government taxing entity, to help offset costs for the city.
Council Member Milke Dittenber represented the city at the four-hour-long meetings that took place every two weeks over the course of three months during the negotiating process with the labor union.
Dittenber praised the collaborative and communicative work between the union’s leadership and Fire Chief Bryan Daniels, to which he said that the main focus brought to the table was how to make the department healthier and recommendations to save the city money.
“I do think what happened this year was about improving the quality of the firefighter, was about getting more people in trucks and more people in firehouses, and how do we have the most limited impact fiscally to the city,” Dittenber said.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS PRIORITIESFour-year Local 1056 labor union president Kolby Kerbs emphasized that the “big wins” which came from the agreement were “much larger than anything financially,” and instead came from the health and safety area of the contract.
Kerbs listed examples to the council during his speech that the union negotiated, including a formal health and wellness program that mandates physical fitness time during a firefighter’s shift, and an annual requirement for the functional movement screening that identifies deficiencies or physical limitations before they become injuries.
The new required health mandates to prevent injuries can help with fewer lost work hours and lessen operational disruption, Kerbs said.
“That makes health and wellness more than an investment in just an individual firefighter,” Kerbs said. “It’s an investment in the department.”
The union also successfully negotiated a requirement for its members to meet with a mental health professional at least once a year, an issue that Kerbs said has been “historically difficult to discuss in the fire service” and considered it “perhaps the most significant health and safety accomplishment in the negotiations.”
“Firefighters routinely experience tragedy, injury, death, and crisis, and we respond to those events, return to the station, and expect to be ready for the next call,” Kerbs said. “We believe we should not wait until a firefighter reaches a crisis before mental health becomes a priority.”
The annual professional visit, Kerbs said, will help normalize mental health care and make preventive care part of the culture of the department, meaning that firefighters can be physically capable and mentally prepared to safely perform their jobs throughout their careers.
COMPENSATION INCENTIVES The labor agreement did not include overall wage increases to members covered by the agreement other than for promotion purposes. This includes a rate of $75 for 0 to 12 hours and $150 for 12 to 24 hours for work done outside of classification purposes, such as training for skills assessments.
Incentive compensation will be given to members with an active State of Idaho Paramedic License at $1.25 per hour to their base wage, an annual amount of $728 as a 25 cents per hour addition to base wages for members with a higher education degree, and annual amount of $1,000 as a 35 cents per hour addition to base wages in accordance with a member’s longevity for how many years worked for the fire department.
The fire department’s hourly wage scale in the labor agreement is presented as follows:
- Entry Level Firefighter: $24.41
- Firefighter: $28.75
- Engineer: $32.67
- Captain: $36.53
- Training Captain: $53.70
- Battalion Chief: $40.35
“We understood the city’s financial position; we examined our own agreement; and we identified areas where expenses could be reduced, eliminated or restructured; and we use those discussions to pursue wages that help keep the fire department or our membership competitive within the valley,” Kerbs said.
Daniels told the council that a lot of time was spent evaluating compensation throughout the Treasure Valley, and while the goal was not to be the top paid, it was to be competitive.
“Our goal is to stay competitive because we know what the high cost of turnover really is,” Daniels said.
Overall, the fire chief described the agreement with the fire union as “relationship based” and said he was proud not only to support the agreement, but also his personnel.
“As your fire chief, I wouldn’t have imagined the relationship I would have with our labor union right now,” Daniels said. “I’m proud to stand behind them, in front of them, and right next to them.”