Our General President

Harold A. Schaitberger is General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, representing more than 298,000 professional fire fighters and emergency medical personnel in every state in the U.S. and in Canada. President Schaitberger is the ninth president in the IAFF’s 92-year history, and was the first to have been elected by acclamation in 2000. He was re-elected to another four-year term in August 2008. Read more...

Current message from the General President:

Fighting Back in 2011  
Nov-Dec 2011 International Fire Fighter Magazine

We have been on a remarkable journey this year. Following the elections in the fall of 2010, when a number of extremists took office, our opponents came after us in 2011 with everything they had. What started out as an attack on pensions turned into an all-out war on those who work for a living.

Right away we recognized that to fight this well-organized, well-financed, well-coordinated attack we needed to be both strategic and forceful in our response. We recognized that it would take the resources at every level of this great union to protect our members’ rights, wages and benefits. 

So in March, your Executive Board voted unanimously to allocate the financial resources to respond to the vicious attacks, and we launched our Fighting Back effort.

As we look back on 2011, I can say with all honesty that our efforts have made a difference for so many affiliates and members because we did not sit back — we fought back.

Read more...