Follow the legislative conference online

Right now, our union reps are lobbying for us over in Olympia. If you would like to see what they are lobbying for and check in to see how it's going, the WSCFF website says it will provide updates. If you haven't registered on the website, it will ask you to do so before you can access all material.

Meeting With Gavin Cooley...

Greg and I met with Gavin Cooley and Tim Dunivant today. Mr. Cooley had requested this meeting. He read entries in this blog and wanted to set the record straight. At the meeting, I told him that one of our members had recently seen him on TV and that he had heard Mr. Cooley say that firefighters had not given any concessions, in regard to the lidlift. I said this was an important issue for us, as we had, in fact, voted for every member to donate 24 hours of labor to the city. And many voted for this so citizens would see that we aren't greedy b*st*rds. We were willing to give something back - free labor - 24 hours worth.

Mr. Cooley responded by saying that the last time he talked on TV was December 12th - the budget meeting. He said that he didn't say anything of the sort. In fact, he believes that Local 29 is the only labor union to have actually made a very real, very substantial giveback/concession.

I then asked him about some of the rumors we heard earlier. We heard that he was speaking out against the lidlift levy before the election in November. He pointed out that he had not only drafted the proposition's language, he persuaded many of the lidlift's opponents to not actively oppose this measure.

Overall, the meeting was positive. Mr. Cooley would like to work with Local 29 for a change in state law so municipalities (us) will have the same ability as counties to institute an M&O levy for more than one year. This was something that the WSCFF tried to do last year, but had no luck.

Charred Mouse Burns House...

Man tries to dispose of mouse by throwing it onto a burn pile in his yard. Flaming mouse exits fire and returns to man's house. Mouse burns down house.

Seattle accepting apps

until the end of the month - so sayeth Danny Wilson.

Sumner and East Pierce are hiring...

Sumner and East Pierce are going to hire aprox 13 new employees. Around 10 are going to be firefighter medics. If anyone is interested, call Chief Dan Packerd @ 253-863-1800.

Did anybody else see this?

Heard from some folks that they saw Gavin Cooley, the city's CFO, on TV the other night. They said they heard him say that the city's firefighters didn't give anything back to the city like we said we would. I can't believe that he doesn't know that we are each donating 24 hours of work to the city! And we changed our dental plans to cheaper ones, too. I had heard stories that he was out campaigning against the lidlift levy using the same line that we wouldn't give anything up. If you saw him say these things, e-mail me. Local 29 would like to document this. Most citizens don't know that we gave anything back, and if he is deliberately spreading misinformation, we need to know.

John

ESCORT SERVICE WORKERS NEEDED - not that kind of escort...

Brothers and Sisters,

I am looking for two or maybe three people to work for me doing funeral escorts. The pay is good but the hours are very part time. If you have any questions, give me a call and we can talk about it.
Bill Gonzalez
13D

Health Insurance Companies sock away hundreds of millions more than they will ever need...

A link to the SR article this morning.

Remember how we were told much of the city's budget woes were because of rising healthcare costs? Remember how we laid off firefighters because of budget woes? Well, this article should be the beginning of outrage by city governments all around this state. I wonder if it will.

Earlier this year, we pointed out to the city that Local 29 negotiated a very modest increase in our healthcare premiums for the LEOFF Trust plan. We suggested the city do the same thing. The city could have saved taxpayers a bundle. They could have kept layoffs from coming, perhaps without any increase in taxation to the city. Instead, the city decided to just take whatever increase Premera or GHNW had slated. All the folks of a particular political bent who continually talk about the benefits of competition and the wisdom of the "free" market simply said "no thanks," when it came to demanding some competition between insurance companies for our city tax dollars. How strange.

I know the Spokesman-Review is busy investigating the AMR stuff, and rightfully so. But there may be even a bigger story here. The questions that need to be answered are:

1. Why wouldn't an entity with a million? ten million? a hundred million? dollars worth of health insurance business not shop around?
2. How much money did employees and the city pump into GHNW and Premera via premiums? How much did these companies expend in healthcare? What's the difference between the two numbers?
3. If there's this kind of money to be made, without any oversight, in regards to gouging, why doesn't the city underwrite its own policy?
4. Who's in charge of making sure the city gets the best deal in insurance and other expenditures? What happened when we suggested that they shop around for more competitive insurance companies?
5. If this is the deal insurance companies get with the city, what about road construction, general contracting, etc.?

What gives?

Local 29 Election Results

Debit Day Donation (the giveback)
Yes - 137
No - 54

Dental Plan
Yes- 143
No - 45

Emeritus status
Yes- 174
No - 19

E-Board
Haff - 167
Gonzalez - 131
Wisniewski - 123
Staggs - 109

More Firefighter Openings in other Washington State fire departments...

Here are some more openings that a brother from another dept was kind enough to forward to Local 29. And again, isn't it strange that other cities and counties in Washington State are hiring so many firefighters, while our city (currently in the midst of a construction boom) is in such "financial trouble" that we still have 17 guys laid off? What gives?

Message follows:


My name is Mike Westland, I am the treasurer and on the e-board for Local 3520 (East Pierce firefighters). We are in the fortunate position of adding 9 positons in the next 16 months or so, and our neighbors whom we work with closely should be hiring 3. The first 5 or 6 will be ff/paramedics. If you have any firefighter paramedics who are still laid off and are looking for a job have them call me. Our chief has said he is willing to take a close look at our laid of brothers and perhaps do a direct recruit/lateral hiring. It is my hope that we can do the same in the future for firefighters also, but for the time being it is just paramedics.

Fraternally
Mike Westland
home phone 253-826-6146
work phone 253-863-1800

Job Openings from Dan Daniels...

Dan has a friend who is a mine superintendent for Hecla Mines. He is shorthanded for workers at the Lucky Friday Mine in Silver Valley. The fellow's name is Bearhunter. Just starting, the pay is $13 per hour. And there are worker's incentives too. Most guys are making an extra 1000 bucks a month. The job also has full medical benefits. If you are interested, call 208-744-1751 X303. Tell Bearhunter that you know Dan.

Best Firefigher Movies?

Great article about FF movies and why they really don't work, written by a FF from the Bronx. This is from the Nov/Dec Issue of American Heritage Magazine.

Here's the ad that's in this week's Inlander...

Darryl's campaign letter...

This will be in the newsletter, too. But, some of you will be voting before WORKER comes out. Anybody else out there with campaign letters, please e-mail them to me ASAP. Thanks, John


Brothers & Sisters:

What's next?

We thought it was over. We thought we were safe and we thought we had time to rebuild.

You hear all of the time that involvement is the key to change. Maybe it is and maybe it's not. I am not sure at this point, however, I do know that I as an individual need to stay as involved as I possibly can in order to (help) protect and secure my career and life.

I have been on the job for almost 13 years now and have seen budget cuts in most of those years. This is extremely discouraging and I want to see a change. It is critical that change occurs for the success and growth of our departments.

If elected, as part of the Executive Board, I am committed to doing everything in my power to help our Union grow, by:

POLITICAL ACTION: Interviewing, campaigning, and lobbying our current and future city leaders who stand up for firefighter rights, safety and working conditions

BEING PROACTIVE: Keeping an eye on the future of our Union and directing our Union leadership to take positive steps toward betterment of our jobs and the safety of ourselves and the safety of our families

REVENUE INCREASES: Making sure our city leaders get all the information needed to make sound decisions on new revenue ideas that will help build the fire department and secure our jobs for the future

Below are different positions that I have held and/or been involved with for the Union in the past 9 years:

Executive Board Member: 3 Terms
Grievance Committee Member: 1 Term
Safety Committee: First appointment
RBO Committee: 6 Years
Campaigning for political candidates: Ongoing

I am committed to finding solutions to any and all problems that come our way and will see to it that we are treated fairly and with respect. Elected or not I will continue to work for Local 29 to continue to provide you a great job and our citizens a great service.

If you have any questions about where I stand please feel free to call 230-1089.

Sincerely,

Darryl J. Wisniewski

United Lab's test of deep fat turkey fryers...

Very enjoyable video of the hazards of deep frying a turkey. Might take a few moments to load. So dangerous, yet so gol-durned delicious.

Roger Libby shares what he's thinking about potential givebacks...

Click on the link above to download the word doc.

Detroit Fire Fighters Stay on the Job

John Trautman found this story on the IAFF website. Seems that the Detroit IAFF Local took the city to court to stop them from laying off firefighters and the firefighters won...

November 2, 2005 – The Detroit Fire Fighters Association Local 344 has won a major battle in the fight against the City of Detroit to stop layoffs, demotions and fire company closures. A Michigan Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge has granted a preliminary injunction to stop any further cuts to the fire department. In addition, the ruling requires any proposed cuts to be discussed and settled through binding arbitration.

“This ruling is the right ruling for the citizens of Detroit and the fire fighters sworn to protect them,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “But the fight is not over, and the IAFF remains firm in its support of its Detroit brothers and sisters.”

Dan McNamara, president of Detroit, MI Local 344, adds, “This ruling is a big step in the right direction. We’re not just saving jobs here. We need to keep the citizens of Detroit safe.”

Earlier this year, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced 65 planned layoffs – these following 63 layoffs, 10 battalion officer demotions and five engine company closures in July 2004. This summer, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger, McNamara and members of Local 344 held a 200-strong rally to protest the layoffs. Soon after, the Detroit fire fighters took legal action based on interest arbitration law, failure to negotiate, battalion chief reductions and staffing and overall safety.

The preliminary injunction will expire as soon as a binding arbitration ruling is made.

Lid Lift Levy Passes...

Thanks to all Spokane citizens who voted for this proposition. We appreciate the support. You've just kept a fire station or two from closing. This is a first step in restoring a level of service in your libraries, fire department and police that you deserve as residents of a thriving city.

And for us firefighters, we need to take a look at the numbers. This proposition didn't quite get 60% of the vote. In other words, if this were the EMS Levy, it would have failed. And that's after a lot of campaigning on our parts.

We have two years to show the citizens that we are on their side - that Local 29 is an organization they can trust. As the city prospers, we face a deficit. Why is that? We've got the numbers that show it's not because of an increase in wages and benefits. Where is the money going? Let's join other city employees, elected officials and citizens in finding out.

There are all sorts of opportunities Local 29 can use as advocates of helping Spokane citizens realize their ownership of the fire department. I think it would create stronger bonds between us and the voters, create a long-term vision for the fire dept, ensure accountability in management and help our image - a lot.

We've got two years. We still have a lot of guys laid off. We still are understaffed. We still are going to lose buildings to fires that we wouldn't have lost a year ago. Some of our EMS outcomes are still going to be unsuccessful because of understaffing.

We've got two years, and we can't waste a second getting started.

Desperately Seeking Donations

Well not really desperately, but Rob Mathews is asking for contributions to extend the airtime for the TV lidlift commercials. If you'd like to help, please make a check out to Local 29. Rob footed the bill to get some more airtime, and Local 29 wants to pay him back. Yep, your union dues and political contributions to the union are for this kind of thing, but if you want to do more, that would be swell. And if you want to see the commercial, just click on the title above.

Hot off the presses - no newsletter!

Due to not receiving any submissions from anybody, myself included, there will be no November issue of WORKER. Look for a boffo, very special November/December issue. And if that fails, the November/December/January edition will surely, as the kids say, "rock."