Firefighter Contract

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Firefighter Contract

By Nick Lough

Story Published: Aug 19, 2008 at 7:07 PM MST

Story Updated: Aug 20, 2008 at 9:13 AM MST

BILLINGS - The Billings Firefighter Union says contract talks with city administrators have come to a stalemate.

Wages, hours and working conditions remain key sticking points in working out a new contract deal. Both the union and city officials had sat down with a mediator during the past two days hoping to come to an agreement. Both sides were surprised a deal wasn't hammered out.

"We felt like we had good momentum Monday rolling into Tuesday morning and then it became apparent after lunch we were basically moving apart instead of together," said Firefighter Union representative Dan Cotrell.

"We had made some progress each day. Our number has been fairly consistent. We are always in an approximate range to where we are now but it just simply wasn't enough," said Billings City Administrator Tina Volek.

Next up for the two sides is a factfinder who will present a proposal to both parties. If no agreement emerges, the next step is mandatory arbitration.

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