May 21, 2025 8:15p
(WGTD)---A long-running dispute between the City of Racine and its police officers and firefighters appears to be about over.
Six years ago, the city modified health benefits for police and firefighter retirees, then maintained that it didn't have to negotiate those benefits.
The dispute resulted in contracts being held in abeyance while appeals were filed at the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission and in the courts.
In the interim, the state legislature passed a law which the governor signed that mandated that those items be the subject of negotiations for police and fire personnel.
Recent rulings from the W-E-R-C and a judge came down in favor of the unions.
Now the city needs to pay over $1 million in back reimbursements. The city won't have to make payments to 130 retirees who failed to show for depositions.
The Racine City Council voted this week against any further appeals.
The unions are now asking that their long-open tentative contract agreements be finalized.
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