Fort Worth approved a new four-year labor contract Tuesday for firefighters and emergency medical services personnel, ending months of negotiations and setting new pay increases that begin October 1.
The Fort Worth City Council voted 10-0, with one member absent, to approve a new collective bargaining agreement with the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association Local 440.
A city analysis estimates the agreement will cost roughly $54 million over its four-year term, per the Star-Telegram.
The contract takes effect October 1 and runs through September 30, 2030, replacing the current agreement that expires September 30. The City of Fort Worth previously confirmed the expiration date of the existing agreement.
Under the new deal, firefighters and EMS employees will receive a 5% across-the-board pay increase in fiscal year 2027.
The compensation package also includes annual step increases and additional market adjustments during the contract term, with some classification-based adjustments beginning in fiscal year 2027 and later increases varying by rank and classification.
The agreement follows months of negotiations between city officials and Local 440 after the union declared an impasse in July.
The two sides later resumed negotiations and reached a tentative agreement in September.
Contract Follows Months Of Negotiations
The tentative agreement outlined before the council vote called for a 5% across-the-board raise for firefighters and EMS employees, along with annual step increases and additional market-based pay adjustments, per the Fort Worth Report.
The four-year deal followed negotiations over wages, staffing, workload, benefits, and other workplace provisions.
Shaffer said the two sides ultimately found areas of compromise after months of bargaining.
“I’m really proud of what we’re able to deliver,” Shaffer told the Fort Worth Report before the ratification vote. “Nothing’s ever perfect. It is bargaining, there is working together, there is some compromise.”
The negotiations came during a difficult budget year for Fort Worth.
Earlier in the bargaining process, the city said the union had proposed a package valued at roughly $152 million, while the city had offered approximately $40 million in new investments and what it described as a 20% salary increase over four years.
The final agreement falls between those earlier proposals, with a city analysis estimating its cost at approximately $54 million over the four-year term.
Fort Worth’s EMS System Has Expanded
The new agreement also comes little more than a year after Fort Worth brought emergency medical services in-house.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Fort Worth Fire Department took over ambulance operations from MedStar in July 2025.
The move followed the city’s decision to replace its long-standing MedStar model with an EMS system housed within the fire department.
According to the City of Fort Worth, city officials and Local 440 previously negotiated changes to the collective bargaining agreement to provide civil service status to former MedStar employees joining the department as emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and telecommunications personnel.
The fire department absorbed hundreds of MedStar employees as part of that transition.
Fort Worth formally became the licensed EMS provider for the city and participating member communities on July 1, 2025.
The city says its Fire and EMS Department now includes more than 1,000 dual-role employees and more than 500 single-role employees.
Raises Begin October 1
The new collective bargaining agreement takes effect Thursday, the first day of Fort Worth’s 2027 fiscal year.
The 5% across-the-board raise takes effect during fiscal year 2027, with additional compensation increases coming through step pay and classification-based market adjustments over the life of the contract.
Fort Worth’s fiscal year 2027 budget was adopted earlier in September and takes effect October 1.
The new labor agreement will govern pay and other working conditions for firefighters and EMS personnel through September 30, 2030.
Tuesday’s 10-0 council vote, with one member absent, finalized the agreement one day before the existing contract expires.
Provided by Dallas Express
