Who Will We Support?

March-April, 2007 International Fire Fighter

Brothers and sisters, the IAFF Presidential Forum on March 14 was a very big deal in a town where very big deals are more often the rule than the exception.

If you were able to attend the Forum, I hope you found it worthwhile to hear the candidates and see how they compare to one another.

If you didn’t attend the Presidential Forum, you can watch all the speeches on our web site, and I strongly encourage you to take the time to listen to what each candidate had to say, because this Forum was the start of the process that will ultimately lead our union to figure out who we will support and endorse for the job as our next commander in chief.

It’s easy for a union to attract just Democratic candidates to an event. It’s easy for a business and industry group to attract Republicans. But we reached out to both parties because our membership is bipartisan, because our legislative efforts must be bipartisan — and the legitimate, credible candidates responded.

Our Forum was truly a first in modern politics. Our proud union did what no group has done during any presidential campaign in memory, and what no other union could pull off – we held a bipartisan Presidential Forum with nearly all major candidates from both parties participating.

Only two candidates foolishly decided it wasn’t important to address the nation’s fire fighters. Rudy Giuliani was one of those, and I urge members to go to our web site and read the letter outlining this union’s opposition to the man who is running for president by shamelessly self-promoting himself on the back of 9/11.

The bipartisan nature of our legislative and political efforts began early in the week, during our Legislative Conference, when we heard from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Our congressional reception included more than 60 elected officials from both sides of the political aisle, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). But the Presidential Forum was the major political event of that week, and it attracted significant national media attention.

Our union’s local and state leaders got to see the candidates for president up close in a crowded convention hall to hear them speak to them and our issues. We heard personal requests for our endorsement. We heard genuine, heart-felt thanks for our efforts.

In short, we were granted a rare, unfiltered opportunity to size up the players. Just as important, we found out who seriously wants the support of our great membership — with the now infamous gold and black “Fire Fighters for” campaign machine — on their side for the run to November 2008.

It’s far too soon to make an endorsement, but the Presidential Forum is an important first step in a multi-tiered process that will lead to the IAFF selecting a candidate who will protect fire fighters on the frontlines, protect our homeland, protect our collective bargaining rights and extend that right to others, and one who will protect pensions. We must also pick a candidate who can win.

The eagerness of the six Democrats and five Republicans who attended the Presidential Forum to address our members truly speaks to the value of your voice and the IAFF’s endorsement in this coming election.

Over the coming months, we will be providing you with all the information you need about each candidate’s record and positions on issues critical to your job, our economy and the protection of our homeland — which are the issues on which this IAFF bases its support.

So, I ask that each of you do me, and this union, a favor. The next time someone in your firehouse kitchen or dayroom says: “The IAFF is only about Democrats,” straighten them out. Remind them that we are bipartisan and proudly have the record and reputation to back it up.

Keep reading the magazine. Visit our web site. Educate yourself. And let your local leadership know where you stand.

I know it’s early. But we need to be prepared if we want to lead and make an impact come November 2008.

Click Here to Read President Schaitberger's Past Messages