HELENA — The Helena Firefighters labor union says they've been fighting for fair wages for their staff since 2024. Recently, an arbitrator determined the city of Helena will need to pay $900,000 in back pay distributed between 36 firefighters after failing to negotiate a new salary contract in 2024.
When it came time to renegotiate contracts, the Helena fire union stuck with a similar approach to years past.
(WATCH: Helena to pay $900,000 to firefighters after arbitrator rules in favor of union)
“Our proposal was based on a consistent median-based pay scale, something that we think has been fair over the last 24 years,” said union president Dave Maslowski.
However, the city proposed a different option, leaving the department without a new agreement for nearly 18 months.
“The biggest fear and the biggest worry was the uncertainty,” Maslowski continued, “and I think that kind of frustrated a lot of the members.”
According to a memo from city management to the City Commission, Firefighters will receive a salary increase based on their position between 2024 and 2026. Because of that increase, the city is in a shortfall from where they expected to be, proposing to offset the costs by removing open firefighter positions.
Additionally, the city proposed the department move from an eight-person to a seven-person daily staff. This limits the number of calls the department would be able to respond to.
Over the last 25 years, Helena's annual fire call volume has nearly doubled, with staffing levels staying the same, according to the Fire Department Master Plan from 2023.
“We are now experiencing the same, if not more, call volume with fewer firefighters every day,” Maslowski said. “Our current level of staffing is simply not gonna be able to keep up with the demand that our citizens deserve.”
MTN requested to speak with city officials for comment, but they were unavailable for an interview. The city manager did provide a statement, stating:
“To begin, the City greatly values all of our employees and recognizes the important role they play in serving our community, including our firefighters, police officers, and dispatchers.
The arbitration process between the City and the Fire Union has concluded, and the arbitrator issued a decision. The City has fully complied with that decision, including implementing the required changes and issuing backpay. The memo you received reflects accurate information regarding the impacts of the arbitration.
Our focus now is on the future—specifically, how we continue to meet the community’s growing public safety needs across both fire and police services. Over the past 25 years, our population has grown by nearly 25%, while public safety staffing levels have remained largely unchanged. At the same time, the City is facing increasing financial pressures, including declining revenues, which further impacts our ability to maintain current service levels. That imbalance is not sustainable if we are to maintain the level of service our community expects.
Addressing this challenge will require thoughtful, collaborative conversations as we evaluate options to ensure services remain strong, responsive, and aligned with community priorities. We are committed to working in partnership with both our fire and police unions, the community, and stakeholders. We believe there is a shared interest in ensuring our community is well-served now and into the future.
Any potential levy discussions are still in the early stages and will ultimately be guided by the City Commission through a public process. As those discussions move forward, the focus will be on how best to maintain and strengthen public safety services for our community. We look forward to engaging with all stakeholders in a productive and collaborative way and will share more information as it becomes available.”
The community voted to pass a bond for the construction of Fire Station 3, but nothing had been approved yet for staffing.
Both the city and the union will continue looking for a solution. One option, as Lake mentions, includes a levy to add three staff on call for Station 3: a firefighter, a driver, and an officer in charge to continue meeting the needs of the community.
