The Atlanta firefighters’ union says it’s mystified as to why Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens still hasn’t signed the city’s first contract with the union, almost 11 months after the collective bargaining agreement was struck. The union is now threatening legal action against the city unless the mayor signs the union contract by Friday.
“If a signed agreement is not provided by that date, IAFF Local 134 will pursue all lawful avenues necessary to uphold the [collective bargaining agreement], including legal action for breach of contract,” said Nate Bailey, the president of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 134, in a March 6 email addressed to Dickens. Bailey copied the Atlanta City Council and Atlanta Human Resources Commissioner Calvin Blackburn.
The Mayor’s Office, in a statement to Atlanta Civic Circle, said Dickens and senior administration officials are “conducting a final review” of the contract, to ensure that “all operational details align with long term strategic goals for the city of Atlanta.”
The statement offered no specifics, no timeline, and no explanation for the delay. “The administration remains optimistic about the negotiation, and the mayor has taken no actions in conflict with the partnership outlined or City Council’s resolution,” the statement said.
Atlanta City Council unanimously ratified the contract with IAFF Local 134 on April 21, 2025. Records show there’s a ratification instrument attached from the mayor’s office bearing his signature dated April 24. However, the mayor himself never signed the actual collective bargaining agreement.
This is the firefighter union’s first-ever contract with the city, after the city council recognized the union’s right to collective bargaining in 2021. Georgia public service workers’ unions are barred by state law from collective bargaining, but a 1971 law, the Georgia Firefighters’ Mediation Act, allows cities with populations over 20,000 to decide whether to grant collective bargaining rights to their firefighter union.
The April 2025 contract didn’t address pay and benefits. Rather, it established a process for the firefighters’ union to communicate with the city, outlined a process for training, hiring and firing, and switched pay to firefighters from a four-week to a two-week cycle.
Bailey, the IAFF Local 134 president, said the IAFF asked the mayor for a signed copy soon after, since they wanted to frame it, but never heard back. Bailey said the union asked several more times in the months that followed, but was given the runaround.
“From the mayor’s office, I’ve heard that he’s been very busy, and he’s going to get around to it,” Bailey said. “That’s the only statement we received from the mayor’s office. We’ve had [City] Council also ask on our behalf, and it’s the same statement.”
Bailey told Atlanta Civic Circle he “can’t understand” why the mayor hasn’t signed the document. The city honored the agreement until October, he added.
But when the union asked the city to switch to the agreed upon two-week pay cycle, Bailey said, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department said it would no longer honor the agreement “because it had not been formally signed” by the mayor.
“This abrupt reversal—despite six months of compliance by both parties—stands in conflict with the City Council’s resolution, your prior approval, and the Georgia Firefighter’s Mediation Act,” Bailey’s March 6 email to Dickens said.
“The firefighters aren’t believing the city’s taking this very seriously,” Bailey told Atlanta Civic Circle. “Why can’t we get a signed copy? They want to feel valued, they want to feel respected by their city. Especially in a pro-labor city like Atlanta, this shouldn’t be that difficult,” he said.
According to Bailey, Dickens’ inexplicable refusal to sign the union contract has caused communication to break down between the union and the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, and it has impacted firefighter morale.
“Firefighter morale has significantly declined, raising concerns about maintaining effective first responder services for the residents of Atlanta,” Bailey wrote in the March 6 email to Dickens.
When the IAFF Local 134 surveyed members in December, Bailey said, 48% of respondents said they’re seeking other employment. “We have resignations happening right now. They’re starting to pick up. And we’re not just losing firefighters, we’re losing sergeants and lieutenants,” he said.
The top reasons were low pay, poor leadership, and high healthcare costs, he said. Pay for Atlanta firefighters starts at $58,677 per year and tops out at $68,691 after 15 years of service. Bailey called that one of the lowest pay scales in the Southeast. By comparison, he said, Memphis firefighters are paid $74,000 after three years, and most other cities pay in the mid-$80,000 range. Orlando just raised its starting pay to over $64,000.
Blackburn, the Atlanta human resources commissioner, did not respond to Atlanta Civic Circle’s request for comment.