Richmond finalizes labor deals with unions for police, firefighters and other city employees

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – The Richmond City Council approved collective bargaining agreements between the city and unions representing police, firefighters, emergency workers and other city employees.

The city’s three-year labor deals with the unions — the Richmond Coalition of Police, the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 995 and the Service Employees International Union, Virginia 512 – take effect on July 1 through June 30, 2027.

Each contract has different provisions, including pay increases and covering issues such as working conditions, hours, safety and health, disciplinary actions, grievances, leave and other benefits.

City Council President Kristen Nye, representing the city’s 4 ^th district, called Richmond “trailblazers in the commonwealth in terms of collective bargaining” before the council voted Monday to approve the three labor contracts.

“It has certainly been a long journey to get here with our collective bargaining agreements, but I feel strongly this is just another notch in our belt of making Richmond a place to work, a desirable place to work, and hopefully have your career, work your way up the ladder, and just really invest in our city,” Nye said.

Since Virginia’s longstanding ban on allowing local governments to reach collective bargaining agreements with public sector workers was lifted in May 2021 , the city has voted to allow most city employees to unionize .

The Richmond School Board voted in December 2021 to make the district’s teachers the first in the state to gain collective bargaining rights to negotiate their contracts.

With the collective bargaining agreements finalized Monday, thousands of city employees in three bargaining units will be covered under labor contracts: police, fire and emergency services and administrative and technical.

The labor contracts negotiated by the unions cover the following employees:

• Richmond Coalition of Police: All sworn employees of the Richmond Police Department.
• International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 995: All uninformed employees of Richmond’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services at or below the rank of captain and employees of the Department of Emergency Communications Preparedness and Response (DECPR) at or below the rank of assistant supervisor.
• Service Employees International Union, Virginia 512: All full-time and part-time “non-supervisory and non-managerial employees who are administrative employees or technical employees or who perform office support work and who are not confidential employees,” per city code.

Members of the union voted on the labor contract before it went to the council for approval Monday. The labor deals with the city cover all workers – who are not obligated to join a union — not just union members.

“We’ve been fighting for over 20-some years for collective bargaining for all of our city employees,” Reva Trammell, the city’s 8 ^th District councilmember, said before Monday’s vote.

For police, the labor contract calls for the city to increase its sworn step pay plan to place a Richmond police officer’s initial pay position equal to 102% of the average of the first step pay level for officers in Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties as of July 1, 2023.

Per the contract, Richmond will then have to adjust officers’ step one pay levels to 103% of the average, as of July 1, 2024, of the first step pay levels for officers in those counties starting July 2025 and then moving to 104% the average on July 1, 2026.

The adjustment will then carry throughout the other steps in the plan, according to the deal. For example, if the first step on the pay plan goes up by 2%, the entire step plan increases by the same percentage.

The fire department and emergency services labor deal applies the same annual step pay plan increases using the averages of the three surrounding counties as the police union contract with the city.

Employees in the city’s Department of Emergency Communications Preparedness and Response will get across-the-board pay increases of 3% over the three-year deal, per the contract.

The Service Employees International Union Virginia 512 chapter agreed to a three-year labor contract with Richmond for employees in the city’s administrative and technical unit — a group that includes workers in social services, the city’s public libraries, parks and recreation and other departments.

The contract includes a 4% salary increase for workers in the unit effective July 1 and two 3.25% wage increases starting July 2025 and 2026, per a summary of the deal from SEIU Virginia 512 .

The agreement also calls for creating a joint labor and management committee to review employee pay, evaluations, and staffing, make recommendations, and set a framework for future changes to the contract.

Felicia Boney, a Department of Social Services employee who was part of the bargaining team, told 8News in January when the tentative deal was reached that it was a “huge win” to get committee language in the contract, saying it would ensure workers are at the table with management on workplace issues.

Bill Pantele, an attorney and representative of Richmond Coalition of Police, thanked councilmembers, Mayor Levar Stoney and the city administration for the work to get the deal done.

“It’s been a long fight,” he said before Monday’s vote. “It’s been over 40 years since city employees have had the right to organize.”

Pantele also praised the council for focusing on what employees shared with them over the “stories” they were told, including concerns that unionizing would “bankrupt the city” and a deal couldn’t be reached.

“And what you heard from so many employees, is it’s not just about wages, though that’s critically important to their families,” Pantele told the council Monday. “But also, their work conditions, and having a voice in the jobs that they do for you and our citizens.”

Per a city press release, with these deals, Richmond has agreed to commit $29 million for fire, emergency services and emergency communications, $34 million for police and $20 million for administrative and technical employees over the next three years.

Unions for employees in Richmond’s other bargaining units — Professional and Labor and Trades — will begin contract negotiations “in the coming weeks,” per the city.

Some other highlights of collective bargaining agreements, per the labor deals with the city

Police

• Provides layoffs, reductions in a rank, and demotions will be made in reverse order of Department Seniority and recalls from layoff will be made in Department Seniority order .
• Provides for a bank of Union Leave Hours of a maximum of 1,700 hours to be used by designated bargaining unit members.
• Provides that the City will provide the Union with 1,000 hours per fiscal year of the CBA. The Union may solicit contributions of accrued vacation leave from bargaining unit members, up to a maximum of 700 hours per fiscal year.
• Provides a comprehensive process for candidates who seek promotions, transfers, or secondary assignments.
• Provides that employees hired after July 1, 2023, can carry over 600 hours of accrued, unused sick leave.
• Mental Health/Wellness Days (or similar “open” holidays) will be the same number of hours as the employee’s normal workday.
• All employees whose regularly scheduled shift includes a majority of the shift between the hours of 1700 and 0800 will be paid an additional $1.00 per hour for the entire shift.
• Employees required to appear in court outside their regularly scheduled hours will be paid for a minimum of three (3) hours. If the employee’s court appearance obligation requires more time, the employee will be paid for the amount of time actually spent.
• Affirms that the City will provide bargaining unit members with any medical, dental, and vision plans it provides to other City employees.

Fire and emergency services

• Establishes a Labor-Management Committee (LMC) to consider and make recommendations to the Fire Chief regarding changes in the working conditions of employees.
• Provides that any time an RFD employee is called back to work mandatory or voluntary overtime, they will be paid a minimum of two hours at their applicable rate of pay and that any time an employee is held over, an employee will be paid a minimum of 30 minutes at their applicable rate of pay.
• Affirms that employees will not be discharged, disciplined, or discriminated against because of activity on behalf of the Union that does not interfere with the discharge of their duties or any assignments, the CBO, or violate any provisions of the CBA.
• Provides a comprehensive process for identifying employees to work overtime hours voluntarily.
• Provides that, through the LMC, the RFD will work with the Union to develop a procedure for when incidents involving hazardous building conditions occur.
• Richmond will provide annual cancer screenings.
• Provides that applicants shall not be required to take a polygraph examination as part of a hiring or promotional process for a position in the bargaining unit.
• Provides that the City will not require an employee to use paid, accrued leave whenever an employee is attending a class or training as part of requirements for their current assignment or RFD-sponsored classes to which the employee is assigned.
• Provides that layoffs will occur by reverse seniority, starting with the least senior employee and that employees will maintain bumping rights.

Administrative and Technical Unit

• Bargaining unit employees will receive a minimum of 17 holidays each year.
• The City shall take immediate action to protect employees from any and all imminent hazards/dangers. The City will notify the employee of the plan to ameliorate the reported issue.
• Additionally provides that when an employee reports an express threat of bodily or psychological harm, received as a result of the work they are conducting on behalf of the City, an appropriate safety plan shall immediately be developed between the affected employee(s) and management, and in consultation with City security, as appropriate.

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