Annual Leave Slots on “Desirable Dates”

Dear Captains and Firefighters,

The Valley Regional Fire Authority (VRFA) and Local 1352 have reached an agreement regarding the process for allocating annual leave slots on “Desirable Dates”, when a member retires, moves shifts, and/or takes a days assignment – or any other action initiated by the VRFA. To be eligible under this process the member must be in regular, debit, or STO work status. Therefore a member cannot forecast and make a shift trade working to get the day off.

“Desirable Dates” are defined as those days on which five annual leave slots have been taken. For example, with Captain Astley’s upcoming retirement, seven “Desirable Dates” will have one slot available. When there are less than five this process will not take place and it will be first come, first served.

Our current plan aims to establish a fair and equitable process for all members. This plan builds upon the annual bid process utilized this past year through Telestaff.

For example, during the annual bid process as members prepare to submit their annual leave requests based on seniority, they may notice certain dates marked as “unavailable.” In such cases, the VRFA and Local 1352 agree that the next member with the lowest seniority number will have the first opportunity to claim the available slot.

**For instance, on July 7, 2025, if (10) Wholmacher, (23) Coleman, (34) Astley, (55) Rusler, and (68) Claiborne have secured their leave for that date during the bid period, the next eligible member, (69) Simpson, would have the first right to the opening. Priority would move down from that member, in order to the least senior member on that day. If the slot remains unfilled, priority would move to the most senior member working that day and move down until the slot is filled, or all eligible members have been notified and the slot remains unfilled.

If the date is paged out and the window for submitting annual leave requests closes without anyone securing the fifth slot, it will then be available on a first-come, first-served basis to all members on the schedule.

We are committed to finding fair and equitable ways to operate. Moving forward, we aim to identify “Desirable Dates” that may arise when a member retires or is reassigned shifts mid-year, thereby creating openings.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Best regards,

Tyler Eliason & Ryan Freed