Our General Secretary-Treasurer

Following the retirement of IAFF General Secretary-Treasurer Vincent J. Bollon on January 15, 2010, the IAFF Executive Board – in accordance with the IAFF Constitution and Bylaws – elected Thomas H. Miller, to finish the term.

Miller was appointed to the Indianapolis Fire Department in 1968, retiring in December 2005 at the rank of captain. After just three years on the job, in 1971 he was elected a trustee of Indianapolis, IN Local 416, becoming vice president in 1974 and serving in that capacity until 1999.

Miller was also president of the Professional Fire Fighters Union of Indiana from 1978-2002.  Read more...

Current message from the General Secretary-Treasurer:

Anti-Union Attacks Like Never Before
March-April 2011 International Fire Fighter Magazine

We are facing challenges in the union movement like never before. Attacks on pensions and our collective bargaining rights appear to only be the beginning. As this Special Edition of International Fire Fighter illustrates, we now face a host of attacks on a number of issues, including the restriction on the collection of union dues. And we have launched an unprecedented Fighting Back campaign on your behalf.

The first repeal of a dues deduction law was passed in Alabama. Act 761, passed in December during a special session of the state legislature, makes it illegal to arrange for public employee payroll deductions for union dues unless the labor organization does not use the dues for “political activity,” and defines that term so broadly that it includes even talking about candidates for state or local offices. The Act also forces unions to itemize and disclose all of their financial records to government employers each year.

The law threatens criminal penalties to those who violate its restrictive requirements with up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine. Legislation similar to Act 761 is appearing in legislative sessions in about a dozen other states as well.

Read more...