A month after resolving a 5-year labor dispute, the city and the firefighters’ union have yet to go back to the negotiating table.
The city and Watertown Professional Firefighters Association Local 191 agreed on Nov. 13 to avoid further arbitration, ending a contentious fight over the city violating the minimum manning clause in the contract.
Finally getting that out of the way, the city and the union must now start negotiating contracts for the years beyond 2016.
Two weeks ago, the union notified the city that it wanted to schedule two days of negotiations for a new accord, union president Daniel Daugherty said. So far, the city hasn’t responded, he said. “We’re just waiting to hear,” he said.
City Manager Rick Finn said Monday night that he expects that the city will soon set a date for negotiations.
“We’ve had some discussions about it,” he said.