WESTFORD CENTER — Following weeks of negotiations, the Town of Westford and Westford firefighters’ union reached an agreement on a new contract.
“The Town of Westford is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement on the principal terms of a new contract with Local #3126 of the International Association of Fire Fighters (AFL-CIO), representing our Fire Department,” the Town said in a statement on Tuesday. “The contract is subject to ratification and funding.”
According to the Town, the three-year agreement is competitive and fiscally responsible and a reflection of their commitment to support first responders and their service to the community.
“The Town extends its sincere appreciation to the Fire Union, its members, the Fire Chief, and Westford residents for their support and patience throughout the negotiation process,” the Town’s statement said “The Select Board and Town Administration deeply value their partnership with our Fire Department and look forward to continued collaboration in the years ahead.”
The agreement comes after Westford firefighters worked nearly two years with no contract. This sparked sharp criticism from the union, who blamed Town officials for the long negotiation process and lack of contract, which the union said resulted in a hiring standstill, paramedic shortage, underfunded department and lower quality services as a result.
“The needs of this department have been disregarded by Town administration which could lead to critical delays in services,” the union said in a statement on April 3, where it emphasized that Westford firefighters worked 641 days without a contract. “During a labor hearing, the Town’s legal counsel referred to firefighter positions as simply needing to be filled by ‘warm bodies.’ That statement should concern every resident — because when you call 911, you are not asking for a ‘warm body.’ You are trusting that a highly trained, skilled professional will arrive ready to perform life-saving care.”
In the statement, the union also added that former Select Board members allegedly shared details of contract negotiations, while admitting that the department is underfunded.
However, earlier that day, the union released a separate statement thanking Select Board member Sean Kelly for his extensive efforts in helping work with the union towards negotiating a new contract.
“[Kelly] has taken the time to truly listen to our concerns, understand the challenges we’re facing and advocate for meaningful progress,” the union’s statement said. “His willingness to engage in open and honest dialogue is deeply appreciated.”
WestfordCAT reached out to Kelly, who said there were a lot of factors to consider during the negotiation process.
“What’s true with all collectively bargained contracts is that they’re very complex,” Kelly said. “There’s a lot of complexity to this and there are things that need to be balanced — specifically that we want to give a contract that recognizes our firefighters and how they dedicate their lives to Westford, but that also has to be balanced against our duty to the taxpayer, which is one of fiscal responsibility. So I think, without getting into specifics behind closed doors, that’s one of the reasons why this took so long.”
Fire department funding was also a subject of Annual Town Meeting on March 28. Article 9 in particular, which considered Capital Plan Appropriations, would allocate $170,000 towards fire department vehicle replacement, $22,000 for a generator replacement at the Nabnasset Fire Station and $75,000 towards fire department and EMS thermal imaging cameras.
“We urge residents to advocate for their Fire Department, ask questions and make their voices heard,” the union said in a statement ahead of the town meeting. “Together, we can ensure that Westford continues to have the strong, professional emergency services that this community deserves.”
Both motions within the article to appropriate funding towards these expenses were approved by voters.
Throughout the month of March, the union shared updates online regarding the status of contract negotiations and the increasing time firefighters have worked without a contract.
According to the union, negotiations began in September 2024 and continued through a series of six meetings ending in May 2025. In June 2025, both sides determined an agreement could not be reached, prompting the involvement of the Massachusetts Joint Labor Management Committee for mediation.
The union said the first mediation session took place in November 2025. However, subsequent sessions scheduled for December 2025 and January 2026 were canceled by the Town, delaying progress. As mediation was unsuccessful, both parties then agreed to move the process to arbitration.
During the same period, the union noted that five of the Town’s 11 collective bargaining agreements were settled, some in as few as two meetings and with compensation packages exceeding what firefighters had initially proposed.
In February, the union issued a statement highlighting the importance of a new contract and the factors that are hoping the new contract will resolve.
The following factors were points of concern for firefighters.
- Competition from other towns can potentially recruit Westford firefighters and offer them better wages
- The high-quality EMS Westford offers requires highly-trained professionals
- Equipment advocacy means nothing without people to operate it
- Firefighter recruitment is already a national crisis
- Lack of staffing directly impacts response times
- Lack of a contract affects the continuity of care and community trust.
Following this statement and list of points of contention by the union in February, WestfordCAT reached out to Town Manager Kristen Las, to ask for a response.
Las told WestfordCAT that negotiations for a new contract for Westford firefighters were underway, but said she was not at liberty to share more at that time, since the negotiations were ongoing.
“Everyone showed up in good faith,” Kelly said. “It had to go through the process, which included mediation and everyone showed up looking for essentially common ground. So, I think what came out of that was a strong agreement that’s competitive. I’ve really enjoyed working with the firefighters and I think that they approached this collaboratively – as did the Town – and everyone just came in with one common goal, especially in the last week, which was to find common ground and get it done.”
Now that an agreement has been reached, Town officials told WestfordCAT that the agreement must be ratified by the union and approved by the Select Board, before it can officially go into effect, finalizing the firefighters’ new contract.
