A Tragic and Historic Year

2001 was a year like no other for our Union – and it was a year that none of us will ever forget. It is a year that we will always remember with sadness, but a year we should also look back on with pride.

The Herculean response of thousands of IAFF members to the September 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was unprecedented. The loss of 344 of our brothers in New York on that darkest day was unthinkable. And the tragedy suffered by the families of our fallen heroes in New York and across our two nations was, and is, almost unbearable.

In the days and weeks following the terrorist attacks, our Union faced the greatest challenge in our history. But we rose to the challenge at every level of our Union — providing financial assistance and other family services to the survivors, counseling support to the fire fighters, and staff support to New York Locals 94 and 854.

The IAFF stretched its resources to the limit to meet the tremendous needs in New York, while continuing to provide critical services to our affiliates across the International. Our union leaders in New York drew on their inner strength to deal with the tremendous burdens placed on their shoulders. And, without question, our affiliates and our members across our two nations responded spontaneously to the tragedy with financial, physical, and moral support.

Despite the grief and the horror, we showed the world and ourselves that we were not going to let this unfathomable tragedy paralyze us as an organization. And we proved, more than ever before, that we truly are one very strong, very unified union dedicated to the needs of our members and their families.

Each and every member of the IAFF can, and should, take pride in our response to the events of September 11 and to the needs of our grieving brothers and sisters in New York. We faced adversity with strength. We faced tragedy with determination. And we faced grief and sorrow with compassion.

Without hesitation, our affiliates and our members stepped forward to raise, at press time, $128 million for our 9-11 Fund to benefit the families of our fallen New York fire fighters. Thousands more came to New York in small groups to attend the hundreds of individual funerals and memorial services for our brothers. And many other IAFF members came into New York when called upon by the International to assist in providing counseling support to the men and women of FDNY in the aftermath of September 11.

You should also take pride in our other accomplishments over the course of 2001 that will have an impact on the lives and livelihoods of our members today and for years to come. Among them were:

NFPA 1710: Our final victory in the years-long campaign to win the NFPA 1710 Standard will lead directly to tens of thousands of new fire fighters, and will make the job safer for all of you as communities work to meet the requirements of this historic standard. Again, we saw thousands of IAFF members join with us in Anaheim to vote for the standard.

Legal Guardian Program: The new Legal Guardian program we created provides a new level of protection for union members who face discipline or other employment consequences for union activities by giving them direct legal representation from the IAFF. The International won’t just stand behind or beside our brothers and sisters when they face unfair treatment, our Union will stand in front of them.

Deferred Compensation Program: Our new deferred compensation program for IAFF members will provide you with solid financial products to help you achieve better returns on your investments. Our purpose is to make sure that you have access to financial instruments that help you prepare for your retirement and take care of your families.

FIRE Act: We successfully lobbied Congress to win a 350 percent increase in federal FIRE Act funding to assist your fire departments with grants to provide increased staffing, training, wellness-fitness programs, equipment, and other needed resources. We are continuing to seek much-needed additional federal funding for departments across the U.S.

PSOB: We secured congressional approval for an increase in the federal Public Safety Officers Benefit for fire fighters, paramedics, and law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty from $150,000 to $250,000, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2001.

WMD Training: In the wake of September 11, we succeeded in doubling the federal funding approved for fire fighter training programs on Weapons of Mass Destruction.

National Collective Bargaining: We succeeded in bringing our National Collective Bargaining bill, a top legislative priority of this Union, to the floor of the Senate, the first major labor bill to reach the floor of either the House or the Senate in many years. Although it was defeated at the hands of the Senate Republicans, we will bring it before Congress for a vote again this year.

Political Action: We enhanced our Union’s standing even further in the political arenas at the federal, state, provincial, and local levels of government in our two countries through strong political action and an ever-increasing FIREPAC program. Our new FIREPAC Leadership Trust will only help us to expand our important political program even further.

Web Site: Our new IAFF web site (IAFFOnline) has become a major source of immediate, up-to-date news and information for our affiliate leaders and members, as well as the public and the media. It also serves as a place where affiliates can tap into data they can use for negotiations or promote staffing and other issues. Following the September 11 tragedy, the IAFF web site became our principal vehicle to provide information about the incident and related matters.

Educational Opportunities: We have greatly expanded educational opportunities to our members through new online learning programs and one-day seminars at state and provincial association meetings through our Partnership Education Program. Our Affiliate Leadership Training Summit provides a new avenue for current and future leaders to hone their skills.

GIS and Technical Services: We have expanded our GIS technology and other programs to provide our locals with better information to help integrate EMS into their departments or fight layoffs, staffing reductions, or station closings.

Conferences and Seminars: We are constantly improving our various seminars and conferences – from our Redmond Symposium to our EMS Conference to our Human Relations Conference and our Legislative Conferences in the U.S. and Canada — to better meet your needs and our objectives and goals.

Over the past year, I have tried to make our Union more proactive and prepared to provide rapid response to our affiliates. We are blessed with a staff that is dedicated, professional, and effective. They have worked very hard this year, before and after September 11, to help the Executive Board and this administration achieve our goals on your behalf.

On a personal level, I have made every effort to get out of our Washington headquarters to meet with many of you in fire stations across the U.S. and Canada, and that is something I intend to continue as long as I have the honor of serving as your General President.

We faced a tragedy of epic proportions in 2001 that I pray that we will not see again for generations to come. But we responded with solidarity and strength and we did it as a Union and as the family we are. I want to assure you that our Union will continue to work on your behalf and we will do it with the same dedication, drive, and service that each of you give to your fire departments and the citizens of your communities every day.

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