House Panel Approves IAFF Bargaining Bill

June 20, 2007 -- Years of hard work by IAFF members across the country has paid off with the June 20 House Committee vote of 42 to 1 to guarantee collective bargaining rights for every fire fighter in the nation. The vote sends HR 980, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, to the full House of Representatives.

“The brave men and women who risk their lives each day and serve as our first line of defense against medical emergencies, criminals, natural disasters and terrorist attacks deserve the right to bargain with their employers,” says Representative George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee.

The sponsor of HR 980, Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI), worked with Republicans on the Committee to address some technical concerns that had been raised during a hearing on the bill. The changes eroded much of the opposition to the legislation and allowed most of the Committee’s GOP members to support the bill. Fifteen Republicans joined with 27 Democrats to vote in favor of HR 980. Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI) cast the lone dissenting vote.

Several members of the Committee made note of the South Carolina tragedy in expressing their support for the legislation. “Our fire fighters and police officers put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe. This was tragically demonstrated by the nine fire fighters killed in a furniture warehouse fire in Charleston, South Carolina,” said Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI). “My bill would grant these brave men and women this right. We owe it to them.”

The Committee vote culminated a frenzy of activity, which saw dozens of members of Congress sign onto the bill as cosponsors. When it was approved, the bill had 269 cosponsors, including a monumental 67 Republicans, representing one-third of the GOP caucus. Significantly, of more than 2,700 bills introduced in the House since January, only three have had more support.

For the first time in the 12 years that the IAFF has been working on the Cooperation Act, the IAFF 3rd District secured the support of every member of Congress in that District. Every single House member from all six states in New England signed on to cosponsor HR 980. “I’m very proud of the contribution the 3rd District made to this effort,” says 3rd District Vice President Mike Mullane. “We look forward to helping the IAFF legislative staff move this issue forward in the weeks ahead.”

The IAFF now turns it attention to scheduling a vote in the full House of Representatives and to the introduction of a companion bill in the Senate by Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA).