Measure 2V would change some of the rules for how the city negotiates with the local firefighters’ union.
As it stands, Denver’s collective bargaining policies with the union for city firefighters are different from the city’s policies for the unions of the Denver Police Department and the Denver Sheriff Department.
Measure 2V would change the bargaining policies for the firefighters so that they align with the other two unions. The measure would ensure that a neutral third-party arbitrator has binding decision-making power over disputes between the city and the firefighter’s union.
Currently, arbitration in labor disputes with the firefighter is nonbinding, and disputes in some cases might go before voters instead of being settled by the arbitrator.
The Denver City Council voted unanimously (with two members absent) to put the measure on the ballot.
Here’s the language you’ll see on your ballot:
“Shall the Charter of the City and County of Denver be amended to allow for binding arbitration in lieu of an advisory fact-finding process when impasse occurs between the City and the Firefighters during collective bargaining?”
How would it work?
In Denver, firefighters, police officers and sheriff’s deputies are allowed to unionize under Denver city law. But there are differences in how the city bargains with the three entities.
Under current city policy, when contract disputes arise between the two law enforcement unions and the city, they are solved through binding arbitration. That’s when a neutral third party comes in to hear both arguments and then makes a binding decision that both parties have to abide by.
The process is different for the firefighter union. Currently, when the city and the union come to an impasse, a third party comes in and submits a report defining the unresolved issue, analyzing the facts, and making nonbinding recommendations to both parties. Unresolved issues may be submitted to voters to decide on during an election.
Measure 2V would require a binding arbitration process for the fire department union, mirroring the law enforcement unions.
A separate measure, Measure 2U, would grant unionization rights to a much broader set of employees.
Who’s for it?
Denver City Council voted 11-0 in July to send the ballot measure to a vote of the people. Two lawmakers were absent from the final vote.
Denver Firefighters Local 858, the union that represents city firefighters, endorsed the measure.
“I think it is important that we get binding arbitration because the other two public safety entities have it. We’re trying to be fair and equitable,” Local 858 President Chris Ferguson said during a Finance & Governance Committee meeting. “And hopefully we don’t have to go to arbitration, we can settle before that. I just think it's important that we get it, right now during the times that we’re in.”
Ferguson said firefighter wages in the Denver area are falling behind compared to other metro-area fire departments and bringing their collective bargaining agreement in line with the other first responder unions could help bridge that gap.
Other groups, like Denver Democrats and Colorado Working Families Party, have endorsed the measure.
There was no organized campaign or fundraising in support of the measure as of Sept. 30.
Who’s against it?
There was no organized opposition and no money has been raised or spent to oppose the ballot measure as of Sept. 30.
