Firefighters considering 3-year employment deal with West Dundee

Unionized employees of the West Dundee Fire Department are considering a three-year contract with the village that promises a 2.5 percent raise the first year and 2 percent raises the second and third years, Fire Chief Randy Freise said.

The village board unanimously approved the deal earlier this week. Officials are waiting for ratification from the seven full-time employees in the West Dundee Professional Firefighters union, Local 4882 of the International Association of Firefighters, Freise said.

"I'm not anticipating any problems," he said.

The union members will vote on the deal early next week, said Union President James Amos, adding that he is happy with the outcome of the contract, which extends from May 1, 2015, to April 30, 2018,

"We have a really good working relationship with the village and the chief," he said.

Conversations for the new agreement began in January, Freise said, and the two parties were able to work out the contract in a timely fashion without involving outside attorneys.

"Negotiations have been very cordial and amicable," he said. "Now we're good for a few years."

This is the second employee contract for the fire department. The first contract, which was ratified in 2013, took nearly two years to develop, Freise said, because both the village and the union wanted to lay the groundwork for future deals.

The difference between the two contracts is subtle, Amos said. Parts of the contract, for example, were tweaked slightly to account for minor procedural changes made within the department, Freise said.

"This contract is more of a polish on the old contract," Amos said.

Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said he was pleased with the way discussions evolved this time around.

"There was a lot of good dialogue and some give and take in terms of understanding both sides of the issue," he said.