Once again, we were out in front. People wondered all summer who the International Association of Fire Fighters would endorse for president. When we made our decision on August 29, we made it clear that we are guided by an important principle — we support those who support our union, the issues important to the work you do, and the livelihood of our members’ families.

The IAFF didn’t decide who to endorse based on Second Amendment issues, or a candidate’s position on abortion, prayer in schools or same sex marriage. Those issues are critical, personal issues for our members to decide on their own, but they are not the business of this union.

The IAFF focuses on issues that affect fire fighter jobs and economic security. We look for someone with a proven ability to work across the political aisle to get things done. Someone who will do everything in their power to make sure we are protecting Americans here in America by giving fire fighters the tools and personnel needed to do their job safely and effectively under the most dangerous conditions.

We aren’t swayed by rhetoric. We want results. We need results. As a union of public-sector employees, public officials or those appointed by public officials make the decisions that affect your lives everyday — including those that govern your job.

That’s why we take our political efforts so seriously. We would be negligent if we didn’t work hard to ensure that our friends at every level of politics are elected to office.

And in making the important decision of who to stand with, we could have listened to the pundits before making our choice, but we didn’t. We could have consulted the polls before we made our choice, but we didn’t. We didn’t get caught up in the popularity contest that elections can be reduced to, especially this early in the process. In local, state and federal elections, our support goes to the candidate who supports us.

No one has done that as effectively or for as many years as U.S. Senator Chris Dodd.

While he may be overshadowed by the star power of other candidates, Senator Dodd’s record and ability to get things done in Washington stands out from the crowd of contenders for the highest office in our land.

Senator Dodd is responsible for some of the most important programs in the fire service. He is an ardent advocate for community safety and protecting our homeland, authoring and fighting to pass two key laws to provide resources and staffing for first responders: the FIRE Act and SAFER legislation.

Senator Dodd then went to work to ensure those programs get funded every year. Thanks to his leadership, funding has doubled for SAFER to $115 million in this budget year, putting thousands more fire fighters in neighborhoods across the country. And since he authored and led the fight to get the FIRE Act enacted into law in 2000, more than $3 billion has been provided to fire departments across the U.S. to purchase equipment and provide training to our members.

Senator Dodd also helped lead the effort in Congress to implement all the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report. His record of commitment and leadership on issues that matter to this union goes back to Dodd’s days as a new U.S. congressmen, when he voted to pass the first Public Safety Officers Benefit, providing the families of our fallen with a federal benefit when one of our own falls in the line of duty.

Senator Dodd also has the interests of working families at heart. He wrote the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and fought for seven years and through two presidential vetoes until it finally became law. Since the legislation was enacted in 1993, an estimated 50 million workers have been able to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to recover from an illness or injury, or to care for a new baby or a sick family member. Because of Senator Dodd’s leadership, American families never have to choose between work and family.

You can see Senator Dodd’s full record by visiting our web site, www.firefightersfordodd.com.

At our bipartisan Presidential Forum in March, Senator Dodd earned high praise for speaking to the 1,000 fire fighters in attendance about the issues important to them — from fire service funding to collective bargaining. Many of our members at that conference knew little about him, but told us how impressed they were with his command of the issues, his skill and leadership to help us achieve our goals and his respect for the work you do.

Chris Dodd is able to make that connection with fire fighters and our issues because it’s been a significant part of who he is and how he’s defined his career in public service.

Senator Dodd did not decide to become our friend after he began his candidacy for president. He has been our friend for nearly 30 years. He has been a reliable and effective advocate for fire fighters and a leader in standing with American families, and in protecting our individual rights.

While we know about his record of accomplishment, many voters don’t. It’s our job now to help spread the word about Senator Dodd’s leadership, diplomacy, knowledge, character, values and compassion. He’s been such a valuable friend to fire fighters, its our turn to repay him, and give this country a president who will not need any on-the-job training, and who will truly bring the gold and black to the White House.

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