Follow-Up: Details of La Verne Firefighter Paramedic Pay Side Letter Released

The La Verne City Council, in Los Angeles County, California, on Oct. 19 approved a side letter agreement with the La Verne Firefighters' Association, as GSM reported earlier; the full details of the agreement have now been released. The side letter sets interim pay rules for firefighter paramedics.

The dispute stems from the memorandum of understanding signed on Dec. 19, 2022, which created the Firefighter Paramedic classification with a salary schedule benchmarked 15% above the Firefighter Step 5 salary. The association argued that a firefighter who earns paramedic certification and moves into the new classification should receive about a 15% raise; the city argued the move is a promotion subject to the MOU's 5% promotion rule. In January 2026, after a Step 5 firefighter completed city-sponsored paramedic school, the city placed him at Firefighter Paramedic Step 3 under the 5% rule, bringing the dispute into the open. The city stresses that its firefighter paramedics have been paid throughout, with no reduction in income.

Under the side letter, the city expects to send about two firefighters to paramedic training in early 2027; once certified, each trainee will move to the same-numbered step in the Firefighter Paramedic classification, paid under the salary schedule, in which the benchmark equals 15% of the Firefighter Step 5 salary, or $17,232 a year under the schedule effective Sept. 6, 2026, with any processing delay corrected by a retroactive pay adjustment. According to the city, the agreement also provides back pay totaling about $37,862 to three firefighter paramedics for the pay difference, with no additional back pay for other periods.

The side letter states that it is not an admission by either party of the other's interpretation of the MOU and does not predetermine successor negotiations; paramedic pay rules will be addressed in bargaining for a successor MOU. It took effect upon City Council ratification and runs through the expiration of the current MOU.

Earlier GSM report: La Verne City Council Oct. 19 meeting recap

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：位于 La Verne 的 University of La Verne 的 Founders Hall。照片：Phu "Son" Nguyen，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Founders Hall at the University of La Verne. Photo: Phu "Son" Nguyen, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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