‘Hero pay’ dispute close to resolution

Firefighters sign, police near agreement

Columbus firefighters. medics and police appear to have reached agreements with the city to get the $1,000 “hero pay” bonuses they were promised when City Council approved the funding in July 2021.

Steve Stein, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 67, told The Dispatch that the union, which represents city firefighters and medics, agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mayor Andrew J. Ginther’s office on Friday.

The MOU allows for those first responders to receive $1,000 each, with an additional $500 provided for those who show proof that they were fully vaccinated by the end of 2021.

Brian Steel, executive vice president for the Fraternal Order of Police Capital

City Lodge No. 9, said that the police union has reached a similar MOU agreement that is expected to be signed Monday. The agreement is going through a final review before being officially implemented for police officers, he said.

Nichole Brandon, director of human resources for the city of Columbus, said in statement: “We continued to engage the unions regarding hero pay, and we are happy that we were able to reach terms that both sides agreed on.”

Brandon confirmed the FOP has not yet signed the MOU, but “hope to reach an agreement soon.”

Stein called the agreement with the city a “big step in the right direction” and thanked Ginther’s office for being willing to work with the unions to provide the hero pay to the first responders, particularly those who were interacting daily with the public before COVID-19 vaccines became available.

The money will be paid to first responders from federal COVID-19 relief funds as soon as City Council ratifies the MOUS, Stein said.

On July 26, 2021, Columbus City

Council unanimously approved spending more than $7 million in federal COVID relief funds for one-time payments of up to $1,000 for some 7,100 front-line city employees, including police officers, firefighters and medics.

But tensions between the fire and police unions and the city administration rose when the unions accused Ginther’s administration of changing the terms two months later, offering $500 hero payments with an additional $500 to be paid to those who were vaccinated.

The original city council legislation did not include any language about vaccination requirements, the unions pointed out.

Columbus does not currently require city employees to disclose their vaccination status, so it is not clear who or how many were vaccinated.

Dispatch reporter Theodore Decker contributed to this report. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner