01/23/2026
The IAFF Local 332 firefighters union advocates for members including pay equity, health benefits, and safe workplaces. Read the cover article in Mountain Xpress to learn more about what the current issues are, and consider:
1. Pay Equity: Asheville Fire Department salaries are often compared to other departments in City Hall, but the truth is Asheville's firefighters work a unique schedule that means either working 832 hours every year for $0-hour or that their starting salaries equate to $17.27 an hour.
The Asheville fire department is repeatedly left behind in pay equity in City budget negotiations. In 2024, I got an alternative budget to address the AFD pay gap on the agenda with Councilmembers Smith and Mosley but the agenda item was purposely skipped during the budget meeting.
2. Correcting the budget: I support a budget amendment to bring new AFD hires up to the minimum salary set in the 2025-2026 fiscal operating budget.
Last summer, 13 firefighters were hired 5 days after the budget passed. The misunderstandings between staff and Council resulting in new hires not being paid the raised salaries, so we risk eroding trust with new hires, Council/staff communications, and the public.
Other City staff hired after the budget passed were also left behind but remember: firefighters are regularly scheduled 56-hour weeks--so 832 additional hours every year.
For context, the new living wage calculation based on the cost of housing in Asheville's 4-county metro region is now $24.10-hour according to Just Economics.
Through all of this, the IAFF local 332 firefighters union advocates for its members, and that benefits our whole community. There is understandable fear of retaliation, which is such a shame when we're talking about firefighters who answer calls for fires, traffic wrecks, heart attacks, and emergency responses like getting us through Hurricane Helene. We want to recruit and retain people who provide quality, equitable services for our community, and our community can advocate to do better:
- Read the Mountain Xpress story in print now
- Follow the Fire Fighters Association - IAFF Local 332for advocacy alerts
- Include advocacy for living wages, pay equity, and bringing those 13 new firefighters into the current pay plan's lowest salary set last year. Email [email protected]
