Durham firefighters feel underpaid, have lost 17 members since January

Durham firefighters feel they're underpaid and their wages are making it hard to retain staff.

The firefighters union is making its case at Monday night's Durham City Council meeting. The last time firefighter pay was increased was 16 months ago and that was a mid-year adjustment to bring the department on par with other departments in the area.

The Durham Fire Department ran more than 31,000 calls for service in 2022. Right now, the union president said there's a problem with retention. The department has lost 17 firefighters since January 2023.

About 60% of the remaining firefighters in the Durham Fire Department have less than five years of service. Firefighters are constantly studying, earning new certifications and gaining on-the-job knowledge.

The roots of the issue lie with the COVID-19 pandemic. The union said the city froze salaries citywide more than three years ago.

The way Durham firefighter pay is structured, they receive a 5% merit raise every year. With the exception of that mid-year adjustment 16 months ago, Durham firefighters said they haven't seen a merit increase in more than three years.

They said they aren't asking for a raise, they're asking for what they were promised.

"Not one Durham firefighter I've talked to, not one is asking for a raise right now," said Jason Davis, president of Professional Firefighters of Durham. "What we're asking for is for them to keep their end of the deal. We all signed up. We knew what the starting pay was going to be and when they laid that paper in front of us and said as long as you do a good job you're going to get your 5% [raise] every year. They haven't kept the end of the bargain yet. That's what we just want them to do, keep their end of the deal."

Davis said Durham's department is "pretty much behind every department in the area as far as starting pay goes."

The Durham City Manager's office said she will be covering city pay raises at Monday's meeting. They did not give any more details.