Union Meeting
The minutes from the two-shift Union Meeting held on July 19-20, 2010 are now posted. The door prize for this Union Meeting had reached $325. However, Mike Wilson was disqualified from the winnings after his name was drawn from the membership pool. (You must be present at one of the meetings to win.) (Union Meeting...)
2067
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Big 12 News
- El Paso City manager: Public safety forces proposed tax hike El Paso Times "The members overwhelmingly agreed to help the city," said Lt. Joe Tellez, president of the firefighters union. "We're always sensitive to the needs of the ...
- Austin Fire Department Involved in Lawsuit - The Austin Fire Department has been in the news far too frequently over the past year for many firefighters taste. Since Rhoda Mae Kerr took over there have been headline grabbing issues...
- Austin firefighters claim bias in lawsuit - Austin firefighters claim bias in lawsuit. From The Austin American-Statesman Two high-ranking Austin firefighters Wednesday sued top city officials, a well-known minister and the president of the local chapter of the National ...
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Mike Wilson was the name drawn for the $325 door prize, yet was disqualified. (Union Meeting...)
More Union Business
give collective bargaining rights to fire fighters and other public safety officers.(More...)
Other International News
almost 20 recruits who will begin their academy on June 1, 2010.
(More...)More NFD News
International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2067
Norman,
Oklahoma - Thank you for your interest in the IAFF and the Local IAFF 2067. Our
goal is to maintain the highest level of safety for our members in
an effort to serve the Norman community during emergency responses.
We continue to strive daily in helping the citizens of Norman obtain the highest level of emergency service possible,
while making every assurance that each and every member of the
International
Association of Firefighters Local 2067 are equally compensated
as professional firefighters & emergency responders.
We are proud to serve Norman. We are proud to fight for and defend the rights of Firefighters and the rights of our community in pledging the finest, safest, and progressively motivated Fire Department possible. Thank you for visiting.
"Let's be perfectly clear, this is not about money, as the City manager contends, but about unfairly pressuring the firefighters at the expense of public safety. Is this how the City now negotiates in good faith? In the future, is the City going to simply lay off labor at the start of every contract negotiation just in case they don't get exactly what they want?" - Brian Scott, President of the Evanston, IL Firefighters Association
Features & Updates
July 23, 2010 - The IAFF District 11 Caucus was held on July 21 and 22 in Fort Worth, TX. At a previous week’s Board meeting the IAFF Executive Board approved several resolutions for submission to the delegates at convention. The total Per Capita attached to these resolutions is 68 ½ cents. The Caucus itself sifted through roughly 47 resolutions in preparation for the 50th Convention in August. Local 2067 representatives, Butch Crawford, Tim McDermott and Greg Skelly were in attendance.
2010 IAFF 11th District Caucus Report
(submitted by Tim McDermott) (Photo
Album...)
Your Local 2067 representatives
attending the 11th District Caucus, held in Fort Worth, TX this week, have returned. Butch Crawford,
Tim McDermott and Greg Skelly joined roughly 200 other brothers from
IAFF locals from Texas and Oklahoma to discuss the various
resolutions to be heard and voted upon during the upcoming IAFF 50th
Convention. This caucus holds the 11th District firm in its own
resolve in preparation to cast our votes at the convention.
The caucus equally was a great opportunity to touch base with our
fellow brothers from the area while enjoying the fellowship, food
and comradery one would typically find at these events.
The Fort Worth IAFF Local 440 Union Hall was found to be an ideal
setting in which to stage the procedures over the two-day gathering.
The new building acquired by these Texas Firefighters was indeed
impressive. A massive meeting room, clean restrooms and lobby, well
organized offices and conference rooms were seen by all as a place
of envy. Local 440 members have something to be very proud in calling their
own.
Upon arrival, the hosts placed before the crowd a generous
helping of food during the first evening. BBQ, dessert and chilled
beverages flowed from the well organized kitchen thanks in part to
the assistance of what appeared to be the Ladies Auxiliary of Forth
Worth.
After the conclusion of our registration, dinner and greetings we found entertainment in downtown Fort Worth thanks to the knowledge that Greg had a cousin, Jamie Richards, who was performing with his country band at the local, out-door night spot, “8.0”. We were joined by a following of IAFF visitors to the event where happiness grew as the night progressed; one obviously would expect this.
The next morning, beginning at 9:00 a.m., we were down to
business as the Caucus drew several honored guests. The crowd was
addressed by General President Harold A. Schaitberger, General
Secretary-Treasurer Thomas H. Miller, and 11th District Vice
President “Sandy” McGee, among others. Prior to the remarks by those
IAFF Leaders were those by Fort Worth, TX Mayor Mike Moncrief.
The theme of the day seemed to stem from the difficulties having been caused by a withering economy effecting our members around the U.S. & Canada. Some are observably worse in point than others. Fort Worth itself in fact, according to Mayor Moncrief, is working to solve a 77 million dollar gap in its own budget. Local 440 however, is comforted in a close, working relationship with Mayor Moncrief. While agreements aren’t always easy between them, his door is always propped open for this group of firefighters. The Mayor was quoted as saying, “…since 9/11 your group has been branded with a new found respect. Neither of us wishes to violate that respect. I for one will not balance our gap with the safety of your members!” Fort Worth is privileged to have such leadership in which to work with and communicate. We should all be so fortunate.
General President Harold Schaitberger energized the crowd, as he
often does, with his comments concerning our task as Union officials
and members. He spoke on the National Collective Bargaining Bill now
being considered in Washington. The importance of this to the fire
service is immeasurable. Oklahoma enjoys collective bargaining now.
However, others are presently left behind in that process.
The GP spoke in depth on the economy and the effects it had on many Locals around our Country. In a great many municipalities we have seen the result others experience causing a ripple effect throughout the IAFF. Often, this sets the stage for attacks on pensions, wages and other benefits earned and bargained upon previously to be a catalyst in which a chiseling is seen by hungry city leaders. We hear words from municipalities similar to “unsustainable”, “gold plated”, “I don’t get that” and “where’s mine”. As members of the IAFF, and the Norman Fire Department, we expect nothing less than to receive the resources needed to accomplish our jobs; doing so safely and effectively.
The IAFF is working hard, from the top at the International in Washington to each individual Local in communities around the nation, to battle a misleading and/or misguided believe that we must pay for the shortcomings of a downed economy with the safety, sweat and merits of our membership.
Mr. Schaitberger rolled a great deal of his comments into the
battleground of today. Local Political Action Committees are the key
to what now needs to be accomplished in surviving the war being
raged on our Locals. Every aspect of our lives can be traced in
varying measure to someone holding political office or some element
affected by politics. “We are not a club! We are a trade union!”
Therefore, Norman Professional Firefighters, along with Locals
everywhere, must arm ourselves with the same battleground gear in which our
foes are equipped. In addition to helping fire friendly candidates
in our own community and state, Washington D.C. has become the
‘local’ political action area for all of us as well. The battle
waging in a town three states away is also our shared theatre of war.
Until we come to understand this, we will remain having one foot
stuck in a yielding, local pep-club.
The IAFF has a big job ahead. The resolutions presented today, as they will be with perhaps some modifications at the 50th Convention, are another stepping stone to further the work of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Brought to mind today in our Political Action, Graphical Information Systems, Safer Grants, and other items bolstered by the ‘International’ are but a sampling of things to be improved upon with our help at the upcoming convention in San Diego, CA this August.
Money for
Sculptures, But Not Firefighters
(The American Spectator)
July 23, 2010 - Ann Arbor, Mich., is laying off firefighters, but it has enough surplus cash lying around to buy an $850,000 water sculpture, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy reported this week in a story that gained international attention when it was linked on the Drudge Report. While the nation scoffs at liberal Ann Arbor's backwards priorities, many people might be overlooking similar scandals in their own back yards. The shocking truth is that governments across the United States are maintaining unjustifiable levels of arts funding while crying poverty. (Read More...)
Sapulpa,
OK Firefighters Receive Layoff Notices
(KRMG.com) (The
Tulsa World)
UPDATE - July 26, 2010: Sapulpa firefighters are reach out to their community in an effort to save jobs.
Like many cities, Sapulpa is struggling with a tight budget. Last week four firemen were given 30 day layoff notices. A fire station may also be closed down. It's part of an effort by the City to trim two million dollars from the budget.
With negotiations with the city at a standstill, firemen hit the
streets Monday evening to ask citizens for help.
Dave Taylor is president of the Fire Fighters Union. He tells 2NEWS,
"It's hard to tell those young firefighters and their families that
they are not going to have a job. Not to mention the public safety
issues."
Taylor says at full staff, the Sapulpa Fire Department has 53 firefighters. Five have already been lost to attrition. With four additional men gone, Taylor says response time will suffer and homeowners insurance premiums will go up. (Read More...)
July 20, 2010 - Sapulpa's fire department could soon shrink. Four firefighters have been given their 30 day notices.
David Taylor, the union president for the firefighters, is surprised by the move. He says city revenue is up and that they have already agreed to over $389,000 in concessions. Taylor says the department is already short five firefighters and losing another four would likely mean one of their fire stations would have to shut down.
Taylor is concerned about what the move would mean for public safety and the safety of firefighters. He expects response times in some cases could rise. He also believes it could further reduce the number of firefighters that would respond and add they're already below national standards in that area.
Sapulpa’s firefighters reacted with dismay, tinged with a bit of betrayal, at the city administration’s call to lay off four firefighters in order to meet a projected shortfall in the municipal budget. “I thought we had a deal,” Dave Taylor said regarding nearly $390,000 in agreed-to cuts by the Fire Department to meet the budgetary shortfall. He said the city had initially sought $509,000 in cuts.
But Taylor said he was shocked, and felt betrayed, when called to a Monday afternoon meeting at City Hall, where he was handed a formal letter, calling for the layoffs of four firefighters within 30 days.
Taylor held a Tuesday morning news conference outside of City Hall, telling reporters the public’s safety will be threatened if the fire department is forced to follow through with the layoffs.
The department is already down by five retired firefighters, and the potential four layoffs will only worsen the Fire Department’s ability to effectively deal with fire and first-responder emergencies, he said.
Taylor said the layoffs may ultimately lead to increased response times to fires, and homeowners and business owners alike could see their insurance rates increase as a result. He called the layoffs a ‘recipe for disaster'.
July 13, 2010 - For the third straight month, the City of Norman’s sales tax collections from the Oklahoma Tax Commission has shown a year-over-year improvement.
The July sales tax check, representing collections from last month, totaled $4,548,707.36, a 1.77 percent increase from July 2009.
In May and June of this year, sales tax collections for Norman rose more sharply when compared with the same month in 2009, by 7.37 percent and 7.38 percent, respectively.
This streak of three straight months is encouraging. City of Norman Finance Director Anthony Francisco said in the past that three straight months is a "trend". This is certainly good news for the City of Norman and its future outlook. (Additional news from the Norman Transcript...)
C.O.N. Constrains Merit Freezes Against Firefighters & Others
July 7, 2010 - Fraught with misconception, Norman Professional Fire Fighters have learned, through a received memo from Human Resources, the City Manager has forced the holding back of earned 'merit steps' for those contracted to receive them in FY2011. Foundational opening statements in this memo, including, "...as you are aware, our City is experiencing a serious financial situation...", are unsubstantiated at best in justifying this pilferage without accord.
In spite of the Managers' hope we somehow 'appreciate' the confiscation of this previously contracted provision, it should be recognized Local 2067 in no way endorsed, negotiated, or agreed to in consultation this elimination of the warranted progression in benefit.
Over time however, we have learned to adapt. Tactics to which we know going in we are preconceived in a notion our preparation should be one to meet conflict, not in expecting consideration. To exercise our right in protecting and defending our present and any future bound agreement(s), we will have our day in court; perhaps soon in front of an arbitrator, where to the benefit of all, legality trumps philosophy every time.
U.S.
House of Representatives Gives Fire Fighters Collective Bargaining
Rights
(International Association of Fire
Fighters)
July 1, 2010 - The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill to give collective bargaining rights to fire fighters and other public safety officers.
The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act assures that fire fighters in every state will have the right to talk to their employer about how to improve public safety and do their jobs more safely. The initiative was included in a supplemental appropriation bill adopted by a vote of 239-182. “Seventy-five years after passage of the National Labor Relations Act, fire fighters are a step closer to having the same rights that workers in the private sector have had since 1935,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger.
While most fire fighters and law enforcement officers are already provided bargaining rights under state laws, too many public safety officers do not have the ability to present ideas about how they can better protect the public safety. The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act will ensure that every state allows discussions between first responders and the agencies that employ them, and will promote productive partnerships between labor and management.
Collective bargaining is especially important in light of the fiscal crisis facing many localities. Over the past two years, fire fighters have offered millions of dollars in concessions and given back raises and benefits previously agreed to in order to prevent cuts that would undermine public safety.
The Senate will take up the measure following its July 4 recess.
The New
Class War On Public Workers
by Amy Traub - National Public Radio
June 22, 2010 - A new class war has been declared, but it's not on bankers earning seven-figure bonuses. Instead, as Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was quoted as saying recently, the "new privileged class in America" is government employees, who "are better paid than the people who pay their salaries." We have to escape "public sector unions' stranglehold on state and local governments," agreed Mort Zuckerman, billionaire editor of U.S. News & World Report, "or it will crush us." Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal's Paul Gigot ominously predicts "a showdown looming across the country between taxpayers and public employee unions over pay and pensions."
This decades-old assault on government employees has acquired new potency at a time of widespread economic suffering and populist rage. But the attacks have little basis in reality! A recent study by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence and the National Institute on Retirement Security finds that when such factors as education and work experience are accounted for, state and local employees earn 11 to 12 percent less than comparable private sector workers. Even when public employees' relatively decent pensions and health coverage are included, their total compensation still lags behind workers in private industry. A separate analysis by the Center for Housing Policy finds that despite recent declines in home prices, police officers and elementary school teachers still don't earn enough to buy a typical house in two out of five metro areas. Firefighters and librarians are unable to afford the median home in the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago metro areas. Nationwide, a school bus driver's wage isn't enough to pay rent on a standard two-bedroom apartment.
The lavish lifestyle of public workers is a myth, but the right-wing mythmakers know it's a powerful talking point. By attacking public workers, they can demonize "big labor" and "big government" at the same time, while deflecting attention from the more logical target of Middle America's rage: the irresponsible Wall Street traders, whose risky, high-profit business practices brought down the economy, and the lax regulators who let them get away with it.
At its heart, the scapegoating of public employees is an insidious way to divide public and private sector workers who share many of the same interests. The desired result is clear: there will be less pressure to address the decades-long erosion of pay and benefits for most working people in the private sector if public anger can be focused on the bus mechanic who still has health coverage. With a slim majority of all union workers employed in the public sector, the conservative class war amounts to dragging unionized public employees down to the level of contingent no-benefits workers before they can leverage their power to help private sector workers raise their own workplace standards.
This orchestrated assault may already be working: witness formerly pro-worker politicians like New York's Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Cuomo's attempt to demonstrate toughness by proclaiming, "We are going to be tangling with public employee unions." At the same time, the myth of the overpaid public employee is being used to undermine a range of progressive priorities, from financial reform to job creation bills like the Local Jobs for America Act, which would boost the economy by preserving public services and public sector jobs. It's time for progressives to fight back and confront the falsehood. (Read Full Article...)
Annual
Firefighter Fatality Report reveals sharp drop in number of
fatalities in 2009
NFPA report shines light on cardiac care needed for on-the-job
firefighters
(National Fire Protection Association)
June 7, 2010 - For the first time in three years, the number of on-the-job firefighter deaths in the United States has dropped below 100. The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) annual Firefighter Fatality Report (PDF, 267 KB), released today at the NFPA Conference & Expo, shows a sharp drop in the number of fatalities in 2009. Eighty-two firefighters were killed in the line of duty last year, substantially fewer than the 10-year average of 98 and down even more from the 105 killed in 2008. This is the lowest annual total since NFPA recorded 79 deaths in 1993 and the third lowest total since NFPA began this study in 1977.
“While a drop over one year certainly isn’t enough to show a trend, it is definitely encouraging to see the number of firefighter fatalities drop well below that 10-year average,” said Rita Fahy, NFPA’s manager of fire databases and systems. “We are hopeful that we will continue to see fewer and fewer firefighter fatalities over the next 10 years.”
Each year, NFPA collects data on all firefighter fatalities in the U.S. that resulted from injuries or illnesses that occurred while the victims were on-duty. The report is a compelling picture of the risks to the nation’s firefighters.
As in most years, the number one cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities was sudden cardiac death. While the number of such deaths has been trending downwards since the late 1970s, sudden cardiac death still accounted for 39 percent of the on-duty deaths in the last five years, and 42 percent in 2009 alone, underscoring the need for wellness-fitness programs and health screenings for firefighters across the nation. (Read More...)
City
Should Cut its Losses on TIF
by Don Holyfield as published by the
Norman Transcript
May 22, 2010 - At the most recent University Park (UNP) TIF Oversight Committee meeting some members expressed concern and frustration over the status of the TIF and agreement with the developer. It appears that the developer has not met the terms and conditions of all his obligations as provided in the TIF agreement.
The public was told that this would be a spectacular development with high end retailers that would draw consumers from Dallas to Kansas City. What we have is a strip mall that has for the most part retailers in many other parts of the city that duplicate products sold on the TIF.
The major difference in the retail sales is that only a portion of the sales tax (40 percent) generated at the TIF goes into the City’s general fund. The retailers outside of the TIF who played by the rules and paid for their own infrastructure are having customers siphoned off from their respective business. In addition, they are subsidizing their competition with their own tax dollars. These are tax funds being diverted to the TIF that should be going to the general fund to pay employee salaries and maintain the city's essential services.
With the city’s employees facing loss of jobs because of the alleged budget crises, there is no reason why the City should not cut its losses and end its partnership with the developer. The City would begin to receive available tax revenues at the UNP. The public should insist the City Council do so now.
Pensions
Under Attack
(Michele Shaffer
- IAFF Blogger)
May 13, 2010 - We are in an era that may well be remembered for the most serious assaults on public pensions in the nation’s history. Every day, we see news headlines taking aim at public employee pensions, calling these plans grossly generous and accusing unions of plundering state coffers. But we know that pensions are not padded gifts from employers, but rather deferred wages earned and owned by fire fighters and designed to provide for them and their families when they are no longer on the job. It’s time to fight the attacks on public pensions and debunk the critics.
We cannot afford to be complacent or unprepared to fight off these challenges. If we fail, IAFF members, their families and future generations of professional fire fighters will pay the price because reversing the damage will be difficult, perhaps impossible.
The IAFF and our Committee on Pensions and Health Care are currently developing an online resource of tools our affiliates can use to fight back and stop the beatings on pensions. In addition, we’re writing and publishing a Pension Handbook that will help affiliate leaders better understand pension basics, including the distinction between defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans. This Handbook will be a great resource for affiliate leaders to educate themselves on the fundamental aspects of pensions. Finally, we have conducted a survey of all fire fighter pension plans in both the United States and Canada and are compiling the results, which include valuable information on benefit formulas, retirement age, funding levels and cost-of-living adjustments. The information will be available to affiliate leaders through the IAFF.
Presumptive
Health Initiative
(International Association of Fire
Fighters)
May 11, 2010 - The IAFF Division of Occupational Health, Safety & Medicine has developed an information database of the current presumptive disability provisions in the United States and Canada.
A presumptive disability law links a particular occupation with a disease or condition that has been shown to be a hazard associated with that occupation. As a result of this linkage, if an individual employed in the occupation covered by the presumption contracts a disease or condition that is specified in the presumptive law, then that disease or condition is presumed to have come from that occupation. In this case, the burden of proof shifts from the employee to the employer to demonstrate that the condition was not in fact associated with the occupation but with another cause.
For fire fighters and emergency medical responders, scientific evidence has demonstrated an increased risk for heart disease, lung disease, cancer, and infectious diseases. At this time, most of the United States and Canadian provinces have some form of presumptive law that applies to fire fighters and emergency response personnel. These laws vary greatly between states and provinces. (Learn More...)
Media
Misreporting Public vs Private Compensation
(IAFF Blogger -
Lori Moore-Merrell)
May 7, 2010 - With municipalities continuing to attack fire department budgets, and your pay and benefits, is our local paper inaccurately reporting [or editorizing] how rich state and local workers are these days?
Here’s a little help shining a bright light on that kind of shoddy reporting. This study by the National Institute on Retirement Security uses solid data and analysis to show that “state and local government workers earn an average of 11% and 12% less, respectively, than comparable private sector workers.”
While the study may not apply directly to fire fighters, it can be [...said] decision-makers and the media [shows...] how incorrectly the other side is representing itself.
Memo From
City Manager:
Apprehension
Concerning Budget
(City of Norman, OK)
March 26, 2010 - The City Manager today released a memo to all city employees regarding management working on and reviewing budget information for the City’s fiscal year that will be beginning July 1, 2010 and ending June 30, 2011 (FYE 2011). The City has been watching very closely sales tax trends, particularly over the last several months, in hopes that some of the drop in sales tax revenue experienced by other cities would not be as severe for Norman. (Read Memo...)
The Memo has been reviewed by our IAFF Legal Council and as of this posting it is viewed the Manager can lawfully communicate with us "as employees" regarding the financial condition of the city and the fact he intends to fulfill his legal responsibility to bargain with the IAFF 2067. There is currently seen no alarm or legality issue concerning the memo itself. Its format is intended as information only.
