(UPDATED) Baltimore City firefighters have overwhelmingly accepted a new three-year contract that calls for eight more hours of work per week in exchange for a 14.5% pay raise.

In results posted just minutes ago by Fire Fighters Local 734 and Fire Officers Local 964, the unions announced that the new contract was ratified by members.

The contract – quietly hammered out by the unions and the Rawlings-Blake administration while the two groups were officially locked in arbitration – represents a compromise between the mayor’s demand for a 52-hour workweek and the unions’ resistance to additional hours on top of the present 42-hour week.

24-Hour Shifts

In tonight’s vote, firefighters accepted the so-called Houston Plan that will require them to work two 24-hour shifts over three days, followed by five days off.

Once every 32 days, a 24-hour “impact day” will be added to the schedule. The 24-hour shifts will replace the present schedule of 10-hour day shifts and 14-hour night shifts.

The new hours and pay increase will go into effect on January 1. The contract specifies that no firefighters will be laid off or demoted as a result of the new schedule. The three-year contract will save on overtime pay, the city says, and will reduce the 1,300-member workforce by about 140 positions through attrition.

Over a nine-year period, as much as $72 million will be saved in payroll and benefit costs, according to a city consultant.

In a statement released to the media tonight, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said, “This new contract, with a new schedule and significantly increased pay, will allow our fire department to maintain its high standard of emergency services for our city.

“I am appreciative that the members of the department acknowledge the importance of long-term fiscal stability for our city and have courageously voted to make changes that will benefit all.”

Similar Plan Rejected Earlier

The unions have resisted longer hours for several years. In 2012, they rejected the 24-hour shift proposed by then-Chief James S. Clack.

Again last March, the firefighters rejected a plan that would require them to work 49 hours for a 12.5% pay increase. The unions argued the proposal would represent a cut to their hourly pay. Some firefighters called the new schedule potentially unsafe, citing fatigue near the end of a 24-hour shift.

In today’s vote, the members embraced the 24-hour shift, rejecting a plan to continue the 10-hour-day and 14-hour-night shifts, and add a 24-hour impact day once every four weeks.

Pay Details

In addition to the 14.5% pay increase starting in January, firefighters will receive the 2% wage increase granted to city workers last month at the start of the new fiscal year.

The contract also calls for a 1% increase in firefighters’ contribution to their pension fund, effectively reducing their paycheck by that amount.

Emergency medical services (EMS) and other non-suppression employees will not be impacted by the longer work hours. They will continue on their present schedule and will receive a 4% pay raise on January 1, 2014.

One issue still separating the unions and city is the number of years before a firefighter can retire with benefits. The Rawlings-Blake administration changed that date from 20 to 25 years. The fire unions and the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police have challenged the change in court.

A sweetener in the new contract calls for a “longevity raise” from the current 4% to 5% for employees with 20 and 25 years on the force.