Fire District Signs Agreement With Union Covering COVID Pay

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 4, 2021

On Jan. 15, commissioners of Vashon Island Fire & Rescue voted to approve a new memorandum of understanding with its union representing career firefighters, defining the handling of pay issues surrounding quarantine and exposure to COVID-19.

On Dec. 30, VIFR commissioners directed its fire chief, Charlie Krimmert, to invite the leaders of the union to the bargaining table to negotiate the new policy.

That instruction came after a meeting on Dec. 28, when commissioners considered a grievance filed by the firefighter’s union, charging unfair pay practices during an incidence of COVID-19 exposure in the district in September.

Although the commissioners denied the grievance, they did instruct that the paid administrative leave policy of King County Medic One for cases of COVID-19 exposure be referenced in new talks between the union and the fire policy.

Under the new agreement, firefighters will receive supplemental leave pay in order to maintain their baseline salary while excused from work for COVID-19 related medical reasons. Those on such leave will be required to file a Worker’s Compensation Claim within 72 hours of being excused from work.

The agreement also stipulates requirements for career firefighters to report possible COVID exposures and details testing and quarantine protocols to follow those exposures. It also details procedures for those who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

The new agreement covers only union-represented personnel, not volunteers, administrative or part-time workers in the district. Reached by email, Chief Krimmert said COVID-19 policies for those workers would be reviewed for presentation to the commissioners at their February meeting.

Also at the Jan. 15 fire commissioner’s meeting, outgoing chair of commissioners Candy McCollough detailed attorney’s fees from the district’s law firm, Quinn & Quinn, related to the grievance filed by the firefighter’s union and its hearing in December.

McCollough said that commissioners Andy Johnson and Brigitte Schran-Brown had violated district policy by not following proper protocol to ask permission to call the firm’s lawyers regarding the grievance. She ordered Johnson and Schran-Brown to reimburse the district for these costs, which totaled less than $200 combined. Both Schran-Brown and Johnson agreed to reimburse the costs but said they had been unaware of the policy.