Our View: Quick work by city, union

May 13, 2008 11:57 am

— While it has not led to a drop in service, the contract between the city and its firefighters has been somewhat elusive over the last handful of years. In fact, the last contract between the two sides took two years to negotiate.
That is why it is not only surprising, but downright shocking, that the city and the Mt. Vernon Professional Firefighters International Association of Fire Fighters Local 738 already have reached an agreement for their next contract. Their current contract expired on April 30.
That the pending contract was agreed upon within the same year as an expiring one is noteworthy in itself; that has not been the case for many years. That the agreement was reached less than a month after the expiration of a contract is a sign of marked improvement in communication between the city and its firefighters.