Economic Decline Threatens Staffing, Benefits

As we move into the new year, we face growing challenges from economic forces that are beyond our immediate control.

In many states and provinces across our two nations, political leaders used to dealing with budget surpluses in recent years are now grappling with massive budget deficits. It is estimated that the total deficits in state budgets will be between $75 and $100 billion dollars. The implications are staggering.

In California alone, Governor Gray Davis is contending with a deficit of $36 billion by the end of the year. Even in fiscally conservative states like Virginia, which has historically operated in the black, governors like Mark Warner are awash in a sea of red ink left by their predecessors.

The plunging stock market, the sluggish economy, declining tax revenues, and the military buildup in anticipation of war in the Middle East are all factors in the economic challenges that loom heavily on the horizon. The current decline in the stock market is the longest drop since the 1930s, unemployment is spiking and has climbed over 6 percent for the first time in eight years, and corporations ranging from airlines to energy companies are seeking bankruptcy protection at an alarming rate.

Today, over 43 million Americans lack health care, creating an enormous financial burden on states. State Medicaid costs jumped 13 percent last year and experts estimate an even steeper increase this year. What does all this mean to professional fire fighters?

In cities, counties and towns across the United States and Canada, local officials are desperately seeking ways to cut spending, and fire department funding is clearly on the chopping block in many of those communities.

Historically, cities have refrained from cutting fire department funding until other means of reducing spending have been exhausted. The effective and ongoing political action efforts by many IAFF affiliates and their success in educating the public about the important role of the fire and EMS service have ensured public support, which has often helped stave off cuts. Unfortunately, we are in a recession and that means everything is on the table – including your very jobs!

In many cases, municipal governments have exhausted other means of raising revenue and are now setting their sights on the fire service. And cuts in the fire service almost always mean cuts in personnel or employee benefits because, quite frankly, that is where the money is. Personnel costs account for 85 percent of most fire department budgets. As we begin 2003, our brothers and sisters across the International are fighting to protect their interests and protect their safety. Despite all of the homilies and praise fire fighters have received from politicians in the wake of September 11, it is questionable whether many of those elected officials truly recognize the importance of their fire fighters, both in terms of day-to-day emergencies and critical Homeland Security issues.

It seems that none of our local affiliates, large and small, are immune from the long knives of the budget cutters. Even in New York City, where 343 of our union members gave their lives and thousands more risked their safety and health at Ground Zero, Mayor Bloomberg is talking about cutting staffing on many companies and shutting down fire stations to reduce a $6 billion budget deficit.

In Chicago, there is talk about reducing staffing on apparatus in many companies. In Seattle, the city is looking at cutting fire fighters, closing companies, and eliminating medic units. In Cincinnati, city officials are looking at rotating closures of fire stations and closing some fire companies altogether. In Tucson, Ariz., there is talk of postponing the construction of a new fire station that is desperately needed in a high growth section of the city. In places like: Rockford, Ill.; Wilkinsburg, Penn.;

Cudahy, Wisc.; Lorain, Ohio; St. John, New Brunswick;

Flint, Mich.; and many other communities from coast to coast, layoffs are on the table. And these cities and towns are only the tip of the iceberg. In some cases, local unions are being told they must give back some of the wage increases and benefits they have won for their members if they want to avoid layoffs. In other cases, no alternative is offered and our brothers and sisters are losing their jobs. Budget cuts can take many forms. Some communities will seek to reduce staffing by attrition so it is less painful. But the fact remains that what they are really doing is cutting the overall personnel in the department and that equates to reduced staffing, unsafe working conditions, and a less effective fire fighting force. In other instances, management will seek to freeze wages and cut overtime costs, even when overtime is needed to maintain safe staffing levels. Brothers and sisters, in addition to threatening your lives and livelihoods, these shortsighted politicians are compromising Homeland Security. Make no mistake, reducing fire fighters jeopardizes preparedness and places our citizens in harm’s way.

At a time when two-thirds of our fire departments are already understaffed and many fire departments today operate with fewer fire fighters than they did 30 years ago, even as the populations they serve have increased, we cannot allow elected officials to further threaten fire fighter or public safety. With the added responsibilities of Homeland Security and the other specialized tasks you perform, you and other IAFF members are being asked to do more with less. That’s why I have already met with U.S. governors and have joined the fight to secure federal aid for our cash strapped cities and states. In the past, we have had the luxury of lobbying exclusively for fire fighter issues such as collective bargaining, PSOB expansion, FLSA reform, and other critical matters. During the 108th Congress, we must employ a more comprehensive strategy. I will be asking each of you –and directing our army of grassroots lobbyists who attend our annual Legislative Conference – to advocate programs to stimulate the economy. We must provide assistance to state and local government to invest in resources including personnel to buttress Homeland Security and emergency response. We must pass a tax proposal that puts more money in the pockets of working families who will, in turn, pump those dollars into the economy by purchasing goods and services. The increased spending will create jobs, fuel the nation’s economic recovery, and improve the tax bases of local and state government. All of these factors translate to greater job security and less uncertainty in your future.

We simply can’t ignore the impact of the nation’s recession on fire fighters.

An immediate concern is health care and retirement benefits. As health care costs continue to rise, management may try to saddle you with a larger share of health insurance premiums, reduced coverage, and higher co-pays for doctor visits and prescriptions. Communities desperate for revenue may reduce their contributions to your pension plans or try to use money from the retirement fund for other purposes. The IAFF is jumping headlong into the national debate on health care policy. We are committed, as we have always been, to assisting our locals in finding comprehensive and affordable coverage for all members and dependents. A particular concern is assuring that coverage is available to you when you retire. Too many of our members are left without health care coverage when they leave the job.

Our union must also address the issue on a more global basis by pushing for greater access to care, cost containment instead of cost shifting, and a timetable to enact real health care reform. We must also look at the entire health care delivery system and weigh the benefit of alternatives that beyond the traditional fee for service approach and managed care. I want to assure you that the International will continue to be on the “front line” for you in these trying times. But it is also incumbent on every one of you – as IAFF members, as fire fighters and paramedics, as citizens and individuals – to do your part.

Support your local president and executive board and participate in their efforts to protect your interests. Contribute to your local’s political action fund and to FIREPAC. Talk to your neighbors, your friends, and other citizens in your community and educate them about the importance of safe and adequate fire fighter staffing in protecting their lives and their homes. Make sure they understand that shiny new apparatus and equipment don’t take the place of flesh and blood fire fighters.

Now, more than any time in recent history, we must be ever vigilant to the penny-wise, pound-foolish efforts by elected officials to balance municipal budgets on the backs of their fire fighters.

We must all work together and present a united front because your safety and the safety of the citizens in your community rest in the balance.

Happy New Year and Stay Safe.

Click Here to Read President Schaitberger's Past Messages