n LOUDOUN
4 | n EDUCATION
VOL. 9, NO. 26
12 | n PUBLIC SAFETY
17 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
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Community-Supported News. Free to all.
MAY 9, 2024
‘Making History’
Supervisors Ratify County’s First Collective Bargaining Agreement with Firefighters BY HANNA PAMPALONI
hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ratified a tentative collective bargaining agreement between the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 3756 and the county government. The 8-0-1 vote of approval came nine days after the agreement was ratified by union members. IAFF Local 3756 submitted a request to begin the bargaining process in December 2022 and began meeting with the county Feb. 28, 2023. During the deliberations, the two groups met 30 times. Proposals that were not tentatively agreed to by Dec. 20, 2023, were not included in the fiscal year 2025 budget process. The board’s vote serves as a good faith commitment to appropriate any additional funding needed to meet the terms of the agreement. County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said she didn’t know when she had
Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now
ever been happier to make a motion. “Our employees are every bit the public servants that this board is if not more,” she said. Vice Chair Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) agreed, saying the agreement would allow firefighters a seat at the bargaining table. “We are making history right now. This is the first ever collective bargaining contract in Loudoun County, with our firefighters coming through first,” she said. IAFF Local 3756 President John Myers said a lot of blood, sweat and tears had gone into the agreement. “It improves the salary and benefits of our members to help the employee retention,” he said. “It improves the county’s ability to be competitive in the regional labor market and ensure the department will continue to thrive and grow as the community grows and thrives itself.”
International Association of Fire Fighters Local 3756 President John Myers, left, and Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System Chief Keith Johnson stand for a photo at the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Station after the Board of Supervisors’ May 7 vote to ratify a collective bargaining agreement.
FIREFIGHTERS continues on page 37
Residents Form Power Line Opposition Strategies as Regional Demand Grows BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org.
Nearly 200 residents filled the banquet hall at the Lovettsville Fire and Rescue Station last week to learn how they can battle against a proposed power trans-
mission line expected to cut through the western part of the county to Leesburg. The meeting was hosted by the Lovettsville chapter of the Loudoun Transmission Line Alliance led by Alliance member Mary Terpak. Presentations were made by Piedmont Environmental Council Senior Land Use Planner Tia Earman, Waterford
Foundation President Sue Manch and Scenic Loudoun Legal Defense representative Tom Donahue. Earman’s presentation focused on the growing demand for power in region specifically from the increase in data centers and the lack of infrastructure to support it. Northern Virginia uses twice as much
power as any other region in the world, she said. “[There are] two aspects that are super important to understand in this conversation,” Earman said. “One, we do not have POWERLINE continues on page 36
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