Boston Firefighters Union Ratifies New Contract

The Boston Firefighters Local 718 union voted to ratify a new contract on Thursday, according to an announcement from Boston Mayor Martin Walsh's office. 

The firefighters had worked for three years without a contract in place; the new six-year contract calls for an 18.8 percent pay increase and is expected to improve safety guidelines for fire officials, according to Boston.com. 

"I'm very pleased to hear the results from tonight's vote, and I want to thank the membership for their confidence and support," Walsh said in a statement Thursday night. "I'm glad that this matter is officially resolved. In particular, I want to thank Rich Paris and the leadership of Local 718 for their commitment to this process and to protecting the best interests of the people of Boston." 

Thursday's vote resulted in 824 yes votes and 58 no votes, according to the announcement. The contract will cost Boston about $92.4 million and extends to June 2017, The Boston Globe reported. 

"Tonight, our membership voted in overwhelming support of this contract," Rich Paris, President of Boston Firefighters Local 718 said in a statement. "We said from the beginning that we wanted to come to the best agreement possible for everyone involved, and then we worked together with mutual respect and trust to reach this deal. Thank you to Mayor Walsh and his team for their work on this matter."