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IAFF Keeps Up the Fight
April 9, 2011 – From collective
bargaining, dues check-off and wages, pensions, union security, benefits and
worker rights, the political attacks on IAFF members and other public employee
unions continue in state after state. The IAFF and its affiliates have worked
hard to identify these threats and fight back like never before.
IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger appeared on
Hardball with Chris Matthews April 1, reinforcing the message that the IAFF
backs politicians who back fire fighters, regardless of party affiliation. “Our
principles have always been straightforward and that’s that we will support
those in the elected field who support us,” Schaitberger said.
“This is not about budgets and deficits," he added. "This is a fraud. This is
about the right-wing of the GOP that sees an opportunity to make a power move to
try to cripple our unions and take workers’ rights away. But what they are
really doing is galvanizing our members.”
IAFF members are pushing back and pushing back hard - in Ohio, Michigan, New
Hampshire and Florida, to name just a few states.
Ohio Governor John Kasich and the GOP-controlled legislature passed SB 5,
legislation that eliminates bargaining rights that have been in place since
1983. Now IAFF members and the rest of labor are ready to wage an expensive
referendum campaign to beat back this attack. On April 7, the Ohio Association
of Professional Fire Fighters (OAPFF) voted unanimously to assess OAPFF members
$100 to build a $1 million war chest to repeal SB 5. IAFF General President
Harold Schaitberger attended the meeting, which was held in Columbus.
In New Hampshire, where the state legislature is pushing a proposal to amend the
state collective bargaining law to dramatically roll back collective bargaining
rights and make all state workers at-will employees after a contract expires,
IAFF members are fighting back.
The Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire (PFFNH) aired
this radio spot across the state to bring people to a March 31 "Rally for
New Hampshire."
More than 1,000 workers converged on the steps of the State House in Concord
to protest a two-year, $10.2 billion state budget that will curtail collective
bargaining rights for public sector workers.
In Florida, lawmakers in the House want to gut unions by curbing their ability
to collect dues through automatic paycheck deductions, forcing them to get
written permission from each member before making political contributions and
calling for unions that fall below a certain level of membership to be stripped
of collective bargaining rights. The state legislature also wants to change the
way the Florida Retirement System (FRS) is funded - even though it's fully
funded.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce aired
this commercial featuring public employees - including fire fighters - in an
outrageously misleading attempt to urge voters to support paycheck protection
legislation. The Florida Professional Firefighters (FPF) was quick to rebut the
commercial in the
media and is preparing to air ads in Tallahassee.
The Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union (MPFFU) will be releasing video
ads in select markets that ask voters to help stop the state legislature from
passing a number of anti-worker, anti-union bills, including HB 4205 which
proposes to repeal binding arbitration for fire and police. The MPFFU is also
producing a video to expose the dangerous and irresponsible practice of
combining fire and police departments into a single Public Safety Office (PSO).
Elsewhere, IAFF affiliates are showing the public who the real enemies are in
this political struggle. For example, the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona
released
this video to battle vicious attacks, including SB 1609, a bill that
threatens pay and benefits, and developed a
web site to dispel myths about public safety workers’ salaries and gain both
public and legislative support.
This video, released by San Mateo County, CA Local 2400 and the Redwood City
Fire Department, features testimonials from community members about the
important work fire fighters perform every day. Fire fighters plan to have the
clip shown in local movie theaters.
The IAFF and its affiliates are prepared to fight back in other states where
changes to labor laws are being considered. The IAFF has developed this
interactive map that affiliates can use to track attacks related to
collective bargaining, dues deduction, paycheck protection, political rights,
Right to Work legislation and pensions, as well as monitor proposed or potential
ballot measures.
Additional information related to threats occuring throughout the United States
is available on the IAFF's
Fighting Back campaign web site.
The Fighting Back
web
site also features a number of
tools and resources affiliates can use in their own efforts to fight these
multifaceted attacks, including fact sheets, graphics and ways to
add the Fighting Back campaign web site to their own web sites.
The IAFF’s social networks, including
Facebook,
Twitter and the IAFF
Frontline Blog, are also updated daily.
The IAFF is asking members to help expand the reach of the Fighting Back
campaign by growing the number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers. The new
goal is to reach 15,000 Facebook fans.
Also, please encourage your family and friends to
sign up through the Fighting Back web site to receive email updates about
the IAFF’s and its affiliates’ Fighting Back efforts.
The next issue of the International Fire Fighter magazine is focused
exclusively on the challenges that IAFF members face and the battles being
waged. Watch your mail for this comprehensive look at the multiple threats IAFF
affiliates face in state after state and how the IAFF is fighting back.
And keep us up to date on how you are fighting these attacks – email
feedback@iaff.org.
Wherever they happen, and
however long it takes, the IAFF will continue to defend its members
against these attacks and fight to keep what this union has worked hard
to achieve.
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