Wichita Falls firefighters union seeks collective bargaining rights

The Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association is pushing to get collective bargaining and binding arbitration onto a local ballot.

The group has begun circulating petitions among local voters to obtain the required number of signatures to put two measures to a vote.

The union has until Aug. 19 to gather the signatures if the measures go onto the Nov. 5 General Election ballot that will contain everything from a presidential election to school board races.

Jon Bradley, legislative director for the association, said collective bargaining would give the union the right to meet with the city staff.

"With collective bargaining, it is a contractual agreement that allows us to talk about issues and bargain collectively as an association with the city so it's not a one-way street," he said.

"We are a union, but we are not allowed to strike," Bradley said.

He said the binding arbitration component would mean if the firefighters and the city reach an impasse in negotiations, a third party arbitrator would be appointed to make the decision.

At a May 21 City Council meeting, fire association President Al Vitolo told councilors the Wichita Falls Fire Department is understaffed.

“I am unapologetic about asking for extra staff. The national standard is four men per unit. We run three,” he said.

He said the department has seen a steady increase in the number of calls — over 14,000 in 2023.

“We have seen no increase in staffing,” Vitolo said.

Texas law authorizes fire and police organizations to organize for collective bargaining but requires approval by voters. To get on the ballot, the group must get signatures from 5 percent of residents who voted in the last general election.

In this instance that would be the 2022 general election, and five percent of the turnout would be about 1,100 voters.

A binding arbitration measure requires a change to the city charter and that would require about 2,500 signatures.

Bradley said union members will be at public events and in front of businesses to collect signatures and may go door to door.

The firefighters association has invested heavily in local politics, sending $61,400 to a Lubbock political consultant to spend on the campaigns of endorsed City Council candidates.

All those endorsed by the organization — Mayor Tim Short and councilors Jeff Browning, Mike Battaglino and Tom Taylor — outspent and beat their opponents.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Wichita Falls firefighters union to seek collective bargaining rights