The Coronado Firefighters Association has been out of a contract with the city of Coronado since July, 2022, but the two sides appear to have a new, tentative deal in place, the firefighter’s union chief told The Coronado News.
Fire Captain Brandon Idhe, president of the union, said the two sides have been negotiating on a multi-year deal, and a bargain was struck around Jan. 19.
“Firefighter and paramedics are increasingly in demand, the number of available-to-hire has become less and less over the last 10 years,” said Idhe, a city firefighter the last 10 years. “We need to have a competitive compensation package.”
Coronado firefighter/paramedics, according to city records, were offered a salary of around $67,000 in the base pay scale, not counting benefits and overtime pay. Idhe believes that in order to maintain high standards and attract highly skilled and trained individuals, a higher salary is needed.
On the city side, Coronado Spokeswoman Andrea McCullough says, “until the tentative agreement is signed by both parties, the city of Coronado is under negotiations and is looking forward to working with CFA to reach an agreement quickly so that the city may continue to offer competitive compensation to its valued employees.”
When asked about when there would be an agreement, Idhe said that the earliest council would be approved to vote is February 21st.
Idhe had no further comment on any of the details of the new contract.
