Political Action Wins the Day

In the closing hours before the 109th session of Congress adjourned, House and Senate members addressed several issues of concern to the IAFF, including a spending bill that increases funding for the SAFER and FIRE Act grant programs and makes major reforms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  

 The Homeland Security spending bill for 2007 increases SAFER funding to $115 million and FIRE Act funding to $547 million. Initially, President Bush's budget for 2007 threatened to cut funding for the FIRE Act grant program by 60 percent, and to completely eliminate SAFER.   

The IAFF played a significant role in crafting a compromise proposal to reform FEMA, working with Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and Representatives Peter King (R-NY), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) on the language contained in the final bill. The adopted legislation reforms FEMA within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), reunites preparedness and response functions, moves the U.S. Fire Administration and all first responder grants back into FEMA, requires use of an all-hazards approach to emergency management and authorizes a credentialing system to ensure appropriate use of fire fighters deployed to a major disaster.

 When we learned that our medical monitoring proposal was being stripped from FEMA reform, we offered it as an amendment to the Port Security bill adopted by Senators George Voinovich (R-OH) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) by voice vote. The issue was surprisingly contentious, but we ultimately prevailed. This is a tremendous victory for our members. Although responders to major disasters never know what dangers await them, they can now rest assured that proper monitoring programs will help with the early detection and treatment of any potential illness.

The IAFF’s success in the 109th Congress is the result of good strategy and an extraordinary lobbying effort that engaged leadership from both political parties. I am confident that our bipartisan approach will continue to pay off in the 110th session of Congress.                                                             

- Harold A. Schaitberger, General President  

 IAFF Implements New Online Account Creation Process

The use of Social Security or Social Insurance numbers is no longer required to create an online account on IAFF Online.

IAFF members can establish an online account using their first and last name, local number and IAFF member number. Once confirmed as an IAFF member, members can create a personal user name and password. Members only need to enter their member number on the first visit.

IAFF member numbers appear on membership cards and on the mailing label for the International Fire Fighter magazine.

Establishing an online account on IAFF Online gives members access to the many valuable tools and resources available through the IAFF web site and ensures they receive important communications and news alerts.

Click here to create an online account now.

Managing Your Assets Is Easy With the New IAFF-FC Banking Center

The IAFF Financial Corporation is offering an important new strategic business opportunity for IAFF local and state affiliates through the IAFF-FC Banking Center.

Developed exclusively for IAFF leaders and members, the IAFF-FC Banking Center helps you manage your affiliates' financial assets (and your members' personal assets), features competitive interest rates and offers a wide range of financial products, including business savings accounts, jumbo business savings accounts and Certificates of Deposit.

The IAFF-FC Banking Center combines the advantages of traditional banking with the convenience of online banking. Deposit products offered through the IAFF-FC Banking Center are FDIC insured up to $100,000 per customer and feature some of the highest interest rates in the country. Access to your accounts is available online 24 hours a day. The IAFF-FC Banking Center web site, checks and debit card all feature the IAFF-FC logo.

The IAFF-FC Banking Center also ensures secure access to your accounts. Internet browsers equipped with encryption technology are required for access and digital IDs from Verisign verify identities of customers. In addition, passwords consisting of eight alpha-numeric characters are required and all account activity is logged and monitored for suspicious activity.

Opening an account is easy. Click here and select "Business Banking" to complete an application and mail to:

Deposit Operations/IAFF-FC
P.O. Box 1245
Indianapolis, IN  46206-1245

FIREPAC Closes in on Best Year Ever

As Election Day nears on November 7, FIREPAC is working to raise more than $100,000 for final efforts to help elect pro-fire fighter candidates. In the final weeks before the election, money raised will enable FIREPAC to be in a position to make a difference in a number of competitive races.

Overall, FIREPAC must raise $600,000 before the end of the calendar year to reach its goal of $3.5 million for the 2006 election cycle.

Thanks to the continued growth of the FIREPAC Check-Off program, the IAFF is on target to raise a record $1 million through this program alone. Since May, the following IAFF locals have implemented Check-Off programs: Oshkosh, WI Local 316; Kennwick, WA Local 1296; Fairbanks, AK Local 1324; Anchorage, AK 1264; North Las Vegas, NV Local 1607; Salt Lake City, UT Local 1645; Malvern, AR Local 2276; Snohomish County, WA Local 2781; Lisle/Woodridge, IL Local 2986; Roanoke County, VA Local 3194; Salem, VA Local 3478; Bedford Park, IL Local 3571; Buckeye, AZ Local 4311; and Blackfoot, ID Local 4454. In total, 156 IAFF affiliates have an active FIREPAC Check-Off program in place.

In the final months of this year, FIREPAC is conducting several direct mail fundraising appeals. Every IAFF affiliate president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, secretary or treasurer who has not contributed to FIREPAC in 2007 is being encouraged to contribute at the President's Circle level. Look for information about this FIREPAC Leadership 100 Drive in your mail. Despite the record number of candidate fundraising requests FIREPAC has received from across the country this election cycle, more than 7,750 IAFF local officers still have not contributed to FIREPAC this calendar year.

In addition, a Political Training Academy Graduate Drive is designed to generate contributions of at least $100 from all IAFF Political Training Academy graduates. During its 10-year history, the Political Training Academy has trained more than 500 IAFF members or spouses to conduct their own elections or manage critical campaigns. Political Training Academy alumni understand the importance of political action, yet their support for FIREPAC has been disappointing. Therefore, FIREPAC is requesting each Political Training Academy graduate to consider making a contribution at the $100 President's Club level.

FIREPAC will also be sending a second renewal request for contributions from members who made a donation to FIREPAC in 2005 but have not yet done so in 2006. Finally, FIREPAC is sending all affiliate presidents an update regarding their local's progress towards their FIREPAC Century Club fundraising goal.

Don't forget -- affiliate leaders can still contribute to FIREPAC by using a personal credit card or checking account when registering for the Affiliate Leadership Training Summit (ALTS) in Atlanta, Georgia in November.

Interested in starting a FIREPAC Check-Off program for your local? For more information, visit the FIREPAC section of the IAFF web site, send an email to firepac@iaff.org or call the IAFF Political Action Department at (202) 824-1592.

Want to make a contribution to FIREPAC now?  Click here to contribute now! Click here to view FIREPAC donor gifts.

Apply for the 2007 Political Training Academy

The IAFF is now accepting applications for the 2007 IAFF Political Training Academy, scheduled for February 11-15, 2007, in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Since its inception, the Political Training Academy has graduated 500 members from 48 states and four provinces. The program focuses on all aspects of political campaigns, including campaign planning and budgeting; candidate and PAC fundraising; reading and understanding polling data; recruiting, screening and endorsing candidates; building an effective press operation; campaign material development; targeting voters; and running an effective get-out-the-vote program.

In addition to the hands-on classroom learning, students participate in mock campaign exercises, such as a press conference.

IAFF members or family members who are planning to run for public office, manage a campaign or implement a local or state/provincial association's political program should apply.

To apply, click here for instructions on completing an application form and submitting a letter of recommendation from your local president. The application period closes November 1. Class size is limited to 50 participants and only one person per affiliate will be accepted in any one year. Participants are responsible for transportation costs only. Lodging, meals and conference materials are provided by the IAFF.

For more information, contact the IAFF Political Affairs Department at pta@iaff.org or visit the IAFF web site.  

ALTS to Feature Expert Panel Discussions

Want to know how to prevent Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) legislation or how to pass collective bargaining laws in your state? Need ideas for improving health and safety in your department? 

Whether you have specific questions like these or want to listen to discussions on these topics, the IAFF Affiliate Leadership Training Summit (ALTS) offers three new panels that address these issues. These special sessions give affiliate leaders the opportunity to ask questions of experts in these fields and to learn from other IAFF leaders who share similar experiences. 

TABOR legislation seeks to reduce revenue growth in U.S. state and local governments by setting tax restrictions. These tax restrictions can hinder the government's ability to raise the necessary funds to provide essential services, including fire department operations, negotiated collective bargaining agreements or employee health and pension programs. Without the proper funds, jurisdictions are forced to cut fire department (and other public services) budgets, putting the lives of fire fighters and the citizens they protect in jeopardy. The ALTS panel discussion focuses on how to defeat TABOR initiatives through the use of political and public relations campaigns.

You can also learn from IAFF political staff and successful local leaders who have won collective bargaining rights using ballot measures and other forms of political action to determine the appropriate strategy for your jurisdiction.

Finally, an expert panel of IAFF staff will discuss fire fighter wellness and fitness, new developments in the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) and important standards for protecting against infectious diseases.

ALTS will be held November 12-14, 2006, in Atlanta, Georgia. Click here for more information or to register.

EMS Members Win FLSA Suit Against Anti-Union Employer

Members of Plantation, FL Local 4430 have won a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime suit in federal court against the City of Plantation. The Court’s favorable decision requires the City to immediately pay paramedics overtime for work in excess of 40 hours per workweek, as well as backpay for their unlawfully withheld overtime compensation.

The FLSA provides that public employees engaged in fire protection activities come under the "Section 7(k) exemption," and need not be paid overtime until they work 53 hours in a seven-day work period (or after 212 hours in the maximum 28-day work cycle). In a 1999 FLSA amendment passed by Congress, EMS employees can be covered under this overtime exemption, but only if they work in a fire department, are cross-trained in fire protection, and have legal authority and responsibility to perform fire suppression functions.

The City of Plantation applied the fire fighter exemption to its EMS personnel to avoid paying overtime based on the 40-hour workweek standard. While these EMS workers were employed in the Rescue Division of the Plantation Fire Department (the City has all volunteer fire fighters), most of the paramedics and EMTs are not trained and certified as fire fighters under Florida law; accordingly, the Court found that they did not satisfy the cross-training requirement to be covered under the Section 7(k) exemption.

Secondly, the Court determined that none of the EMS employees has the legal authority or the actual responsibility to perform fire suppression functions. Their rescue vehicles do not have fire fighting equipment or gear; they respond to medical calls; they are dispatched to fire scenes to perform needed medical services; and they are not ordered to engage in fire suppression. Consequently, they do not have the necessary authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression.

Lastly, the Court found that the City failed to prove that the EMS members spend more than 80 percent of their time on exempt fire-related activities under the Department of Labor's 80/20 percentage test. With respect to call responses, 13.5 percent of the Rescue Division's time is spent on medical calls, while only 2.5 percent is spent responding to fires, extrications, hazardous materials emergencies and vehicle accidents, and their station time is focused on medical duties regarding completed run reports, medical supplies checks, cleaning the rescue vehicles and medical training. For this additional reason, the Court decided that the City unlawfully applied the fire fighter overtime exemption.

This court action, authorized by IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger and handled by the IAFF General Counsel's office, was especially gratifying because the City and fire department chief were not only predicting they would win the FLSA case, they had threatened that the EMS members would end up paying the City's attorneys' fees and costs of defending the suit.

In light of the Court's favorable ruling, it is the City that must pay the litigation expenses incurred in successfully representing these union members.

This positive result has provided encouragement to these IAFF members who have been subjected to extreme forms of anti-union retaliation by the employer – which are being challenged in a parallel court action handled under the IAFF Guardian Policy.

In response to these employees organizing a local affiliate and pursuing their legitimate overtime claims, the City refused to recognize the local and aggressively opposed the local's representation petition with the state's labor commission. It also intimidated employees into withdrawing from the union, instigated criminal charges against the local's president (which the state attorney's office did not pursue because they lacked merit), fired the local president and forced the resignations of other union activists, and otherwise engaged in a campaign of harassment and retaliation.

The win in the FLSA suit will provide momentum in this pending Guardian Policy case to obtain appropriate relief for these union supporters. 

Tom Woodley serves as IAFF General Counsel

Participate in the IAFF Human Relations Survey

The IAFF is conducting a survey online to learn more about human relations efforts throughout the IAFF. Many factors contribute to the diversity of a fire department, and this survey is designed to identify some of the common issues.

The IAFF will use the information gathered through this survey as part of its online diversity initiative launching later this year. This information will also be critical for identifying areas in which the IAFF can assist affiliates and their members.

Click here to participate in this important survey.   

Purchase Your 2007 IAFF Burn Foundation Calendars!

Order copies of the official 2007 IAFF Burn Foundation Calendar and help support the IAFF Burn Foundation.

Order online using Visa or MasterCard or call (800) 562-5766, extension 105.

The 2007 Burn Foundation Calendar features full-color photos from the annual IAFF Media Awards Contest. Each month depicts the dangerous but rewarding work of professional fire fighters across the United States and Canada.

Order copies for your local's firehouses and union halls and for members of your community as a reminder of the important work fire fighters do. These calendars provide great visibility for your local and professional fire fighters across the United States and Canada and communicate the critical need for a strong, well-trained professional fire service while helping the IAFF help burn survivors.

The IAFF Burn Foundation is the largest and most respected non-governmental source for burn research grants.

2007 EMS Conference Confirmed for June 24-27

The IAFF 2007 EMS Conference will be held June 24-27, 2007, in Houston, Texas. This 9th Biennial EMS in the Fire Service Conference will feature nationally renowned plenary session speakers and more than 25 topic-specific workshops.

For more information, contact Lori Moore-Merrell at (202) 824-1594 or visit IAFF Online.

One Stop Online Training for Fire and EMS

Recognizing the importance of continuing education and training for fire and EMS professionals, the IAFF has partnered with National Paramedic Institute (NPI) to offer discounted access to valuable online EMS training for IAFF members in the United States and Canada. 

This exclusive partnership with NPI allows IAFF members access to NPI's cutting-edge course offerings for EMS professionals at the first responder, EMT and paramedic levels. The program, often referred to as EMS JANE and Medic Monthly – is used by many of the nation's largest fire departments. NPI's all-inclusive web site offers the only EMS physician directed "one-stop shopping" curriculum for individual fire fighters or entire departments. 

NPI's Online Training offers fully accredited EMS training modules on a variety of topics, from the popular case-based Medic Monthly series, to lectures on leading topics and issues – such as HIV/AIDS and Bloodborne Pathogens. In addition, NPI offers online ACLS and CPR recertification. You'll also find full access to the IAFF Virtual Academy, combining cutting-edge IAFF fire training with National Paramedic Institute's dynamic EMS training.

National Paramedic Institute is committed to providing all IAFF members with excellence in EMS education using advanced web technology. NPI also allows fire departments to upload their own selected courseware, maximizing department customization and flexibility.

Contact National Paramedic Institute at (800) 671-9411 to schedule an interactive web demonstration for your fire department.