CITY, FIREFIGHTERS SIGN MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT ON NEW 8-YEAR LABOR ACCORD

The new agreement signed today also covers FY2008-2012 compensation for the city's fire alarm operators, who are represented by Local
76 but who had not been included in the JLMC award.  Under the terms of the new accord, the firefighters also agreed to defer an estimated $420,000 in additional retroactive
compensation to FY2013, which begins on July 1^st.  Both the City and its firefighters further agreed to drop all litigation associated with the JLMC process, and the
firefighters agreed to withdraw their case before the JLMC.     

"This agreement still presents major funding challenges but, compared to the terms of the JLMC award, it offers real advantages to both the
City and its firefighters," said Mayor Curtatone.  "In that sense, I think it's appropriate to call this a win-win deal.  I am very
grateful to Jay Colbert and his team for working with the City to hammer out a longer term approach to increasing firefighter compensation in a predictable
and stable way that, in the end, the city can afford."      

"This agreement maintains the integrity of the arbitration award, while addressing the concerns of the city, which was important to
Somerville firefighters, because we not only work here but live here as well," said Colbert. "We look forward to putting this process behind us and focusing
on protecting the people of our great city."

The JLMC award called for five years of annual wage increases in firefighter base salary commencing on July 1, 2007.  In addition, the JLMC directed the City to
include all eight types of annual stipend (non-salary payments for such items as clothing allowances, EMT certification, perfect attendance, hazardous duty
and more) to "be rolled into the based pay and considered as regular compensation for all purposes" as of July 1, 2009.

Under the new accord, the firefighters agreed to put off the inclusion of stipends in base salaries until July 1, 2012.  They also agreed to the removal of two
stipends - those for perfect attendance and hazardous duty pay - from the list of stipends that will be rolled into the base starting in FY2013.  In turn, the City agreed to fund the same
five annual wage increases called for in the JLMC award for the years FY2008 - FY2012 (2%, 2%, 2.5%, 2.5%, 3.0%) as well as adding three more annual increases
(2.5%, 2%,2%) covering FY2013 through FY2015 (July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2015).  The City also agreed to an
increase in firefighter detail pay.

Somerville Firefighters Union Local 76 President Jay Colbert (third from left), and Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone (center) sign a memorandum of agreement
for a multi-year collective bargaining accord. Other participants in the signing ceremony, held on Thursday evening, January 19^th, are Union Local 76 Secretary/Treasurer Tom Ross (left
foreground) and, for the City, Chief Labor Counsel Robert V. Collins, Jr, (second from left), Finance Director Ed Bean, and Chief Fire Engineer Kevin Kelleher
(back to camera).