Firefighter Trainees. Applicants who are selected to participate in such Fire Academy classes may be granted and hold appointments to the classification of Firefigher Trainee while in attendance and training at the Fire Academy. Employees holding appointments to this new employment classification shall not be sworn employees of the City of Hayward Fire Department and shall not be members of Local 1909’s bargaining unit or eligible for any benefits provided by Local 1909’s memorandum of understanding, provided, however that employees holding appointments to this new classification shall be paid at the rate set forth by the City. Unless otherwise required by law, employees holding appointments to this new employment classification shall be consided as civilian employees rather than as firefighters or public safety employees for the purposes of qualifying for workers’ compensation and/or disability retirement benefits, If required by law or City policy that a bargaining unit represent this employment classification, this agreement will be terminated and Local 1909 will become that bargaining unit. Any salary savings resulting from this new employment classification shall be placed into an educational fund to be used by Local 1909 members. The educational fund shall be maintained by the City and a quarterly statement shall be sent to Hayward Firefighters Local 1909. Disbursement of this fund shall be according to Section 13.02 of the current memorandum of understanding between the City of Hayward and IAFF Local 1909. Upon successful graduation from the Fire Academy, Firefighter Trainees shall be promoted to the position of Firefighters in the City of Hayward Fire Department. The City and Local 1909 further agree that inasmuch as the successful recruitment of qualified applicants to become permanent firefighters in the Hayward Fire Department is a matter of mutual concern, and inasmuch as the successful recruitment of qualified applicants depends in part on the salaries provided by the City to the applicants selected for appointment to the employment classification of Firefighter Trainee, commencing May 13, 2008, the salary of employees in the employment classification of Firefighter Trainee shall be maintained at 10% below the salary of a first step 40-hour firefighter.
