(LONG BEACH, NEW YORK) - For the first time since 2010, members of Long Beach Professional Fire Fighters Local 287 are working under a current contract.

Long Beach City has approved a successor agreement, officially ending one of the longest bargaining efforts in the Local’s nearly 100-year history.

The contract provides long-awaited stability for the 24 career Fire Fighters who serve their Long Island Community.

The new contract includes wage increases, restructures the City’s pay charts and addresses other key priorities for Fire Fighters.

Local 287 President Sam Pinto said: “The road to get here was long and, at times, incredibly difficult. Yet through it all, our Fire Fighters continued to answer every call and serve this community with professionalism and pride. Today is about recognizing what can be accomplished when people stay committed to the process and remain focused on the future.”

As one of the only career Departments on Long Island, Local 287 Members protect a densely populated Coastal Community with unique emergency response challenges.

Ensuring the Department had the personnel and resources needed to meet the evolving needs of Long Beach was a top priority throughout the Local’s negotiations.

Reaching an agreement became increasingly difficult as Superstorm Sandy, a Department restructuring, multiple changes in the City’s Administrative and political leadership, and the COVID-19 Pandemic reshaped the Long Beach Community over the past 16 years.

Without a contract in place, the City and Local relied on multiple Memorandums of Understanding (MOMs) and other negotiated arrangements to address immediate issues as they came up over the years.

While those agreements resolved pressing concerns, they also created a patchwork of policies and financial obligations that complicated negotiations.

“This was an incredibly complex negotiation,” Local 287 Vice President Catherine Lewis, who served as the Lead Negotiator, said. “We had so many different short-term agreements to navigate through that it created a lot of unknowns. But now, with this new successor agreement, we have an easier starting point for future negotiations.”

To Directly Access This Labor News Story, Go To: Long Island Local secures contract after 16-year impasse - IAFF