The Election is Over: What Now?
From the January-February 2001 issue of the International Fire Fighter

"What is the IAFF going to do now that Bush won the election?"

That was the question posed to me recently by one of our Union brothers at a local event I attended.

It made me think that there are probably a lot of you wondering where our Union will stand with President-elect George W. Bush and his administration when he takes office on January 20, given the fact that the IAFF worked so hard for Al Gore during the presidential campaign.

I want you to know what I told our Union brother so every IAFF member understands how we will approach this new administration.

Let me say upfront that we have no regrets about our support for Al Gore. Our union has a long and proud history of standing by our friends, regardless of whether they are Democrat or Republican. Al Gore has a 24-year history of solid support for the IAFF issues that affect you and your family, whether they concerned your health and safety, your wages, overtime pay, and working conditions, or your pension. Al Gore truly was and still is a valued and trusted friend of the Fire Fighters.

Our state and local leaders and thousands of IAFF members across this nation worked very hard for Gore. We made our mark on the presidential political landscape forcefully, effectively, and responsibly and we should make no apologies for our efforts.

But the election is over and it is time to move forward in advancing our agenda to the new President of the United States, to his new administration, and to the new Congress.

George W. Bush is the nation's 43rd President--and he is our President.

One day after Bush was declared the winner, I reached out to him and congratulated him on his victory. I offered the support of the IAFF and told him that our Union is committed to forging a cooperative partnership with him and his administration in the coming months.

I told Bush that our members across America share his desire to serve the public. As patriotic Americans, I said, the nation's professional fire fighters and paramedics will support him as our President, and we too are committed to ensuring the safety and prosperity of our great land.

President-elect Bush's gracious comments following his victory clearly set a tone for cooperation and unity and I told him that we looked forward to exploring areas of mutual interest and concern.

During my tenure at the IAFF, our Union successfully worked with every new President, regardless of political party. Whether it was Democrats Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, or Republicans Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, the IAFF always found a way to get things done and promote our issues and goals.

I am confident it will be no different in the Bush administration.

Because the IAFF supports more Republican candidates for Congress than any other union, we have a lot of allies in our effort among GOP members of Congress and other state and local officials--and some of them are already reaching out to the President-elect on our behalf.

In addition, some of these IAFF supporters in Congress and state governments will end up in the new administration and we expect them to be loyal to us, just as we were loyal to them.

It is a daunting task to deal with any new administration, particularly when the presidency changes parties. Thousands of top-level officials in the various federal agencies will be replaced by the Bush administration, and we will be sorting through the various appointees to make sure we develop strong relationships with the officials who will actually create and administer federal policies that affect your jobs and your lives.

Ironically, President Bush and the IAFF will face similar problems dealing with the new Congress when it convenes in January.

The 107th Congress is nearly evenly divided between the two political parties, with the Republicans holding a slight edge in the House and a 50-50 split in the Senate. Most political pundits consider this a recipe for disaster, predicting logjams in both legislative bodies.

However, we see it as an opportunity for the IAFF. Because we will continue to follow the same bipartisan approach we have in the past, we will be able to work with our friends on both sides of the aisle in both Houses to push our legislative issues.

I don't want to suggest it will be easy. Some of our issues will surely be swallowed up by the inevitable partisan wrangling that will take place in Congress, but we will work hard to advance those issues where we can find common ground.

We are very lucky in some respects. The admiration, trust and respect that you and all of our members have earned from the public through your actions and deeds over the years give us a leg up in dealing with politicians and elected officials. The fact is they want you and our Union on their side. We enhance their image and their credibility in the eyes of the public--and I assure you, we will use these strengths to our advantage.

We will have to work very hard to advance our legislative agenda. There are many other interest groups and organizations out there that are also plotting their strategies on how to exploit the new administration and the new Congress.

But as the IAFF has proven so many times in the past, we will pursue our goals with professionalism and an intensity unmatched by most other interest groups.

We will fight for positive pro-fire fighter legislation, and we will also be prepared to hunker down and defend the laws and federal regulations that protect your jobs and your livelihood if the going gets rough and the anti-labor forces in Congress start to get some traction with their agenda.

In all of this, there is one vital ingredient that will help pave the way to legislative success in the coming year--and that is the grassroots work that you and your local union leadership perform across the nation.
Just as the International works to educate the new administration and the new Congress about our issues here in Washington, D.C., it is critically important that you reach out to your members of Congress when they are home.

We must send the message loud and clear, on behalf of you and our 240,000 IAFF brothers and sisters, that the issues being advanced by the IAFF in Washington transcend partisan politics.

In my last column, I said we will move our agenda forward by speaking as one union with one voice and one purpose--to advance the interests of every IAFF member.

Our International is prepared to do just that--with your help.

Our legislative agenda in Canada will also be presented to a new government following the recent federal election.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien remains in power with the support of FIREPAC/Canada, and 53 of the 60 FIREPAC-supported candidates, including Finance Minister Paul Martin, won election or reelection to the House of Commons. Martin is a key figure in our efforts to win much-needed pension reforms for our members.

I am very hopeful that our efforts will receive a friendly reception from the new Canadian federal government and we will have a successful year in advancing our goals in Ottawa.

[to top]