ROCK SPRINGS– At last night’s meeting, the Rock Springs City Council accepted and approved an addendum to the 2016-2018 Collective Labor Agreement between the City of Rock Springs and the Firefighters Local 1499 I.A.F.F., which officially changes the shifts to 48/96 rotations.

Trial Period

In April 2016, the council and the Firefighters Local 1499 I.A.F.F. discussed how to cut costs due to a tight budget.

Changing the work schedule was one of the ways they believed would be cost-neutral.

The city and the Firefighters Local negotiated a one-year trial period, from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, to see if a 48-hour-on/96-hour-off duty rotation would work for the firefighters, be cost effective for the city, and serve the needs of the community.

Schedule is Cost-Effective

Now that the trial period is over, the city can conclude that the 48-96 schedule has been cost-neutral for the city.

The council voted unanimously, with the absence of Councilors Tim Savage and Rob Zotti, to officially amend the 2016-2018 Collective Labor Agreement to include the new schedule.

The firefighters will continue to work two consecutive 24-hour shifts, and then take four days off. Before the one-year trial period, they were working under a 27-day duty cycle with three nine-day rotations.