The city of Hialeah and the firefighters' union IAFF Local 1102 signed a two-year collective agreement on Thursday that increases department salaries by 17%, as reported by Telemundo 51.
The agreement, effective from October 2026 to September 2028, received support from 93% of union members in a vote held in mid-October.
In concrete terms, a firefighter who earned around 61,000 dollars annually will now make about 75,000, while a paramedic who was earning about 71,000 dollars will reach approximately 89,000.
The increase is applied in two phases: an 8% has been in effect since October 1, and the remaining 7% will be implemented in the fiscal year 2028. Additionally, certified paramedics receive an additional 2% for their specialty as of that same date. Since approximately 87% of the staff holds that certification, the majority of the workforce benefits from the extra bonus.
The mayor Bryan Calvo described the agreement as a "historic increase in the pay for these firefighters... something that was achieved without raising any taxes, without increasing any costs for the residents."
However, that statement deserves some nuances: although the property tax rate remained at 6.3018 mills—unchanged since 2013—the increase in the taxable value of properties by 6.1% will generate an additional eight million dollars in revenue this fiscal year, according to data from the municipal budget of 514.4 million dollars approved in September.
Eric Johnson, president of the union, thanked for the outcome: “Thanks to the city of Hialeah for working with the firefighters for a better future.”
Alongside the salary announcement, Fire Chief Humfredo Pérez introduced eight new lieutenants and reported the addition of 25 recruits to the municipal academy, as well as the acquisition of new rescue vehicles, high-risk equipment, and oxygen supplies.
"This agreement helps us retain the experienced staff we already have here, whom we do not want to lose, which is very important, and it also helps us bring new personnel to the city for the future," Pérez emphasized.
The management of Calvo, the youngest mayor in the history of Hialeah at 27 years old, is also accompanied by two controversies documented by the Miami Herald: the city paid over $16,000 to his campaign consultant's firm to send mass text messages promoting the mayor's events without the Council's knowledge, and accumulated over $59,100 in overtime for the three agents of his personal security detail between January and July 2026.
The salary agreement comes at a critical time for the department, which handles over 31,000 emergencies per year —nearly 90% of which are medical— with a workforce that has decreased from about 300 firefighters two decades ago to approximately 226 today, with 22 budgeted positions currently unfilled.
The shortage of staff forced the city to spend nearly seven million dollars on firefighter overtime in 2025, and since the start of negotiations last July, the department has lost five more personnel while another 14 were preparing to leave.
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