Welcome to the IAFF Frontline News Brief, distributed twice a month to IAFF affiliate leaders and IAFF members. We encourage you to forward this news to your members and others in the fire service.

The Frontline News Brief is delivered directly by email and is also published on the IAFF web site. You can view past issues at http://www.iaff.org/Comm/frontline/news.htm.

Your feedback is also welcome - email pr@iaff.org with questions and comments.
 

"Senate to Vote on National Collective Bargaining Bill" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Firefighters Hitting Iowa for Dodd" (TheHill.com)
"Florida Fire Fighters Mount Challenge to Tax Reform Referendum " (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Frustrated Charleston Fire Fighters Come Forward" (ABC News 4 (Charleston))
"Review Panel Recommends Wellness-Fitness Program for Boston Fire Fighters " (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Defenses May Take Hit Due to Budget Ills" (San Diego Union Tribune)
"Two New Jersey Locals Call for Acting Chief's Resignation" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"N.B. Tables Legislation to Help Firefighters With Cancer" (CBC News (CAN))
"North Dakota President Helps Manage Workers Comp" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Palm Beach County starts charging workers for health insurance" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel )
"Council Ratifies Fire Fighter Agreement" (Current Argus)
"Who Pays When Workers Go to Drill?" (Boston Globe)
"Oakland Mayor Intervenes in Fire Recruitment Debacle" (San Francisco Chronicle)
"FDNY Anti-Terror Plans Spark Fears of Witch Hunts" (CNN)

 

Senate to Vote on National Collective Bargaining Bill
International Association of Fire Fighters (12/12/07)

The U.S. Senate will be considering the IAFF's national collective bargaining bill in the next few days, with a vote to follow. This is expected to be a very close vote, and your senators could be the deciding vote! The IAFF is encouraging all members to call their senators today and tell them to support America's fire fighters and police officers by voting in favor of the Harkin-Kennedy-Gregg "Fire Fighter" amendment to the Farm Bill.
(Web Link)
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Firefighters Hitting Iowa for Dodd
TheHill.com (11/27/07); Youngman, Sam

Representatives for the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), including President Harold Schaitberger, have been hard at work campaigning for presidential candidate Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) in Iowa. The IAFF made 20 stops on the campaign trail to encourage fire fighters to vote for the presidential underdog. Members are hopeful that with their support, Dodd will be able to pull off a come-from-behind win at the Iowa caucus like the one pulled off by John Kerry in 2004.
(Web Link)
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Florida Fire Fighters Mount Challenge to Tax Reform Referendum
International Association of Fire Fighters (12/10/07)

Florida's 22,000 professional fire fighters have joined forces with the Florida Education Association, National Education Association and the AFL-CIO in a 67-county grassroots effort to defeat a tax reform referendum that, if passed, will cost hundreds of fire fighters their jobs and stall pay raises and promotions for thousands more. If passed in Florida, this tax reform measure will also serve as a blueprint in other states looking to reduce the hard-earned and necessary funding for fire fighters and emergency medical services.
(Web Link)
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Frustrated Charleston Fire Fighters Come Forward
ABC News 4 (Charleston)

They say they've been fed up for months and now for the first time three Charleston fire fighters have come forward. The three are part of a uniform committee put together by Chief Rusty Thomas. Their job was to select the specific style and materials for the department's new uniforms in the aftermath of the Sofa Super Store fire, but the fire fighters say that's not what happened. Together they have more than 36 years on the job, but they're willing to put their jobs on the line for the truth.
(Web Link)
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Review Panel Recommends Wellness-Fitness Program for Boston Fire Fighters
International Association of Fire Fighters (11/30/07)

A special review panel appointed by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino following a Chinese restaurant fire that killed two Boston Local 718 fire fighters is recommending that the fire department take "immediate steps to improve the health, fitness and wellness of its fire fighters by establishing a comprehensive health, fitness and wellness program. "We've been fighting for wellness-fitness standards for years," says Local 718 President Ed Kelly, "but the City has refused to fund or support these programs."
(Web Link)
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Defenses May Take Hit Due to Budget Ills
San Diego Union Tribune (12/09/07); Gardner, Michael

California's looming budget crisis threatens to crimp new spending to strengthen the state's wildfire defenses. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers will be challenged to close an estimated $10 billion budget gap just as demands grow for more air power, engines and fire fighters in the wake of October's deadly firestorms.
(Web Link)
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Two New Jersey Locals Call for Acting Chief's Resignation
International Association of Fire Fighters (12/06/07)

Members of two New Jersey locals - Edison Township Local 1197 and Edison Professional Fire Officers Local 2883 - are calling for Acting Fire Chief Norman Jensen's resignation. Fire fighters say Jensen's changes to fire service operations have put the lives of fire fighters and the citizens they serve in jeopardy. Specific issues with Jensen include: changes to dispatch protocol, officers taken off apparatus and lack of recruit fire fighter training. Past practice called for a dual EMS system with a volunteer rescue squad and professional EMTs responding. Now, if the volunteer ambulance claims to be available, they are dispatched. Local 1197 and Local 2883 are concerned that the volunteer squads do not always respond in a timely fashion.
(Web Link)
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N.B. Tables Legislation to Help Firefighters With Cancer
CBC News (CAN) (11/30/07)

At the end of November, New Brunswick legislators proposed changes to the Workers Compensation Act to define certain cancers as occupational diseases, thereby making it easier for cancer-stricken fire fighters to receive compensation. Previously, fire fighters with cancer were forced to amass evidence of the hazardous materials to which they had been exposed. In contrast, presumptive legislation recognizes that certain kinds of cancer are prevalent among fire fighters. Fire fighters who have a heart attack within one day of active service will also be covered by the amendments.
(Web Link)
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North Dakota President Helps Manage Workers Comp
International Association of Fire Fighters (12/04/07)

Ed Grossbauer, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of North Dakota (PFFND), has been appointed by North Dakota Governor John Hoeven to the Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) Board of Directors. The board manages the state's workers compensation system.
(Web Link)
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Palm Beach County starts charging workers for health insurance
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (12/12/07); Hafenbrack, Josh

Palm Beach County commissioners have imposed a $10 monthly medical premium on unionized workers, putting an end to free health-care policies for government workers in a fight that could signal turbulent times for labor groups. Commissioners blamed state-ordered property tax cuts for the shift in health-care policy. Labor leaders say they're already cutting back their expectations, agreeing to smaller raises, higher health-care costs and fewer perks.
(Web Link)
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Council Ratifies Fire Fighter Agreement
Current Argus (12/11/07); Davis, Stella

The Carlsbad City Council ratified the collective bargaining agreement with the fire fighters' union by a vote of 7-1. The agreement between the city and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1687, becomes effective immediately and will continue through April of 2009. The ratification of the agreement comes on the heels of last month's ruling by a district court judge ordering the city to pay the fire fighters a one-time 15 percent raise.
(Web Link)
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Who Pays When Workers Go to Drill?
Boston Globe (12/06/07); Lazar, Kay

Government officials and municipal workers in Everett, Massachusetts, will form a committee to reform the city's policy for employees who take time off for military training. The local fire fighters' union complained about the policy after budget cuts caused the city's fire chief to stop paying workers for time off for monthly drills required by the National Guard or Reserves. Everett's current policy calls for the city to pay the difference between pay for employees called to active duty and during annual two-week training sessions. However, the policy does not mention pay for monthly drills, even though the police and fire departments were compensating employees. The policy also does not specify the number of days employees are allowed for annual training. The police department allowed 17 days, while fire fighters were only given 14 days.
(Web Link)
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Oakland Mayor Intervenes in Fire Recruitment Debacle
San Francisco Chronicle (12/04/07); Johnson, Chip

A poorly run recruitment session by the Oakland Fire Department forced Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums to intercede on behalf of potential recruits. Prior to the recruitment event, the Oakland Fire Department disseminated more than 7,000 flyers explaining that the first 1,000 applicants would be considered, according to applicant Filip Bednarz. In response, applicants began forming a line two days before the recruitment event to improve their odds of being selected for one of the 23 available positions. However, on the day of recruitment, fire officials moved through the crowd of roughly 2,000 applicants and hand-selected individuals in what many viewed as a blatant display of cronyism and patronage. In response, Dellums declared that all those who were passed over will get a second chance on January 12, 2008, when the application process will be reopened with a second recruitment event.
(Web Link)
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FDNY Anti-Terror Plans Spark Fears of Witch Hunts
CNN (12/05/07); Meserve, Jeanne; Ahlers, Mike M.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working with the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) to establish a threat information-sharing system between first responders and security officials. DHS officials also want to train fire fighters to look for and identify signs of terrorist activity. If the program is successfully implemented in New York, it could be expanded to include fire departments across the country. However, Islamic Americans, civil liberties groups and some fire fighters are concerned that the program could violate constitutional protections granted by the Fourth Amendment. Unlike police officers, fire fighters can enter homes and businesses without a search warrant. FDNY officials argue that they already train their fire fighters to look for and report any suspicious items that are in plain sight. While it is unknown how the DHS training program will differ from current training, FDNY officials are eager to help prevent another terrorist incident.
(Web Link)
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