Windham’s firefighters union has renewed its contract with the town.

The terms of agreement were originally agreed upon in April 2001 and have been renewed every three years since then. Article 1 of the agreement notes that, since 2022, the bargaining unit for the union has consisted of full-time captains, firefighter/paramedics and EMTs. The agreement was signed by Town Manager Barry Tibbetts and International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4095 President Michael Mullin and passed unanimously by the Town Council on May 13.

Phyllis Moss, Windham’s human resource director, served as lead negotiator for the town, alongside Fire Chief Brent Libby. Moss praised the union’s negotiators as being some of the most polite and intelligent people that she has ever dealt with in bargaining, noting that they were very clear when making their requests, and they were able to back them up as to why they were needed.

There were a number of changes to language in the contract this year. These included a series of annual cost-of-living adjustments, amounting to a 3.5% pay adjustment, with additions based on longevity, for the period from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, and a 3% adjustment for the next two years. This means that firefighters can expect to see their pay increase by between $1,000 and $2,000 per year, depending on their position and how long they have been with the department. Longevity pay is $500 for those who have spent 12-14 years on the force, $750 for those who have served 15-19 years, and $1,000 for those who have been part of the Fire Department for 20 years or more, in addition to $100 for every year completed over 20.

The other major change from the previous agreement was the addition of language meant to clarify the concept of the labor management committee. Article 4, which focuses on the committee, in previous versions of the agreement simply consisted of three bullet points explaining what the labor management committee is and how it would work to maintain relations between the town, the Fire Department and the union.

The 2025 agreement has seen the section expanded significantly, stating the goals of the committee, which include furthering the Fire Department’s mission by using the “brainstorming process,” as well as fostering a productive and cost-effective service to the citizens of Windham and enhancing living/working conditions for all Fire Department employees. The section also goes into more detail about the functioning of the committee, which consists of three union representatives, three representatives from department management, and two representatives from the department call company/per-diem personnel. The committee meets at least quarterly, or on the request of one of the represented groups, and all decisions are based on the consensus of all present committee members.