Multiple Gary leaders called Tuesday a special day for both the city and the fire department.
Gary leadership, the city’s fire department, and union leaders gathered Tuesday to announce the signing of a new 2026-2028 labor-management agreement between the city and the Gary Firefighters Association Local 359 after the last one expired on Dec. 31, 2003.
“Your persistent advocacy and willingness to come to the table is exactly why we’re standing here today,” Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said. “It’s been a long shift, and there’s been a lot of challenges. We’ve seen a lot of administrations come and grow, and there’s been a lot of changes and shifts in the city of Gary.”
The new labor agreement formalizes a base salary of $56,650 for city firefighters, and it includes longevity increases of up to $2,500 per year and a $1,500 annual clothing allowance. It also implements NFPA 1582, which sets annual firefighter physical guidelines.
The contract also allows the city to appoint the deputy fire chief from within the department, supports education pay for accredited degrees and includes more inclusive bereavement language.
“This contract is not just about numbers on the page,” Melton said. “It’s fundamentally about what we’re going to accomplish together. It’s about your health, it’s about your safety, and it’s about your stability.”
An updated contract that protects workers means a safer city, Melton said. Fiscal improvements have allowed the city to work with the union and approve a contract, he added.
Gary Common Council President Linda Barnes Caldwell, D-5th, said a new contract represents progress, respect, and a renewed commitment to public safety.
“Today marks an important step forward as we look forward to continuing to work together to build a safer and stronger future for our city,” Barnes Caldwell said.
The fire department’s union has operated without a contract since the previous expiration, union leadership said, but they believe the new contract represents a new foundation.
“It should’ve been impossible (to work without a contract),” said Kevin Benford, president of the Gary Firefighters Association Local 359. “But for (more than) 22 years, we went without a contract. … More than half our membership has never worked under a contract, but still, they answer calls day-by-day.”
Benford and Tyrone Jackson, the union’s vice president, said after Local 359’s contract expired in December 2003, they struggled to set up meetings with previous mayoral administrations. Rather than operating under the expired contract’s guidelines, they didn’t have one, and each administration would “pick and choose” what guidelines they would keep in place, Local 359’s leaders said.
The new contract isn’t perfect, Benford said, but it’s a starting point.
“We didn’t get everything we wanted,” he added. “But now we have a foundation. We’ve got somewhere to start, and we can grow. Before we didn’t have a conversation, and we didn’t have anything.”
Gary Fire Chief Larry Tillman said, in 2022, the Professional Fire Fighters Union of Indiana put on a labor-management class for the city to work with the previous administration and city attorneys. They began working on a contract then, he said.
“This is not something that happened overnight,” Tillman said. “This is something that we inherited. We’re not complaining — we’re just here to put in the work.”
Tillman called the agreement a win for Northwest Indiana and the rest of the state. The city has also invested in new equipment, Tillman said, including new ambulances and trucks.
“The investments we’re making outside of the contract are important,” he added. “All of those are intentional to make this job easier and our city safer.”
