Zombies protest for rights. Pirates stage counterprotest.

It all happened in Austin TX. And it reminded me of our picketing of Millwood (2?) years ago. We never had to contend with pirates, however.

Spokane Labor Council Rally - Wednesday, Sept 27th!

Hosted by the Spokane Regional Labor Council, this event isn't just a way to connect with our union brothers and sisters. It's a chance to eat food and drink beer for only a buck! Things kick off at 4 pm and go until 7 pm out at the fairgrounds, in the ag trade building. And if a dollar is going to set you back, Thad has some free tickets.

The Rally only happens every other year. So, if you have a chance to get out there, you might not want to pass it up!

Spokane Labor Council Rally - Wednesday, Sept 27th!

Hosted by the Spokane Regional Labor Council, this event isn't just a way to connect with our union brothers and sisters. It's a chance to eat food and drink beer for only a buck! Things kick off at 4 pm and go until 7 pm out at the fairgrounds, in the ag trade building. And if a dollar is going to set you back, Thad has some free tickets.

The Rally only happens every other year. So, if you have a chance to get out there, you might not want to pass it up!

September 11th

Five years ago.

343 of our brothers gave the ultimate sacrifice. And they did it in front of a horrified nation.

Five years ago.

And our nation has changed - in more ways than anyone could've thought possible - in five years.

A lot to think about. A lot to talk about. A lot to do.

June's newsletter.

Some of you are asking, "Where is it?" Some aren't.

I am still missing a few crucial submissions, so it's going to be a combined issue of June and July. And if I don't have the needed articles by early July, then it's going to be a summer issue. You see where this is going.

In the meantime, summer is upon us, and it's hot! Hopefully, you'll have some timely relief - with the latest installment of The Housefund Chef. The test kitchen at Stn 13 has come up with a killer recipe for homemade ice cream - all from the bounty of their housefund cupboards! Coming soon.

Thanks,

John

And you thought our city council meetings strayed a bit...

Spokesman-Review weighs in on AMR/SFD relationship...

September Is Next Union Meeting

Still waiting on a few articles for the June newsletter, so it will be a little late. Just wanted you to know that meetings have been suspended for the summer. E-Board continues to meet, however.

Thanks, John

Cheney Golf Tournament Rescheduled...

Unfortunately we have had to reschedule our golf tournament from the
Friday May 19th for several different reasons. But, we have rescheduled
it for Saturday September 23rd at 1:00pm at Indian Canyon Golf Course.
We will be sending out new registration forms in the near future. We
hope we can get a good turn out for this end of the season tournament
and a fundraising opportunity with MDA.

I apologize for the short notice with the rescheduling.

Thanks for your support!

Donovan
Cheney Firefighters Local 1919

Webcam of firehouse lightbulb - burning continuously since 1901!

Four watts and handblown glass - 105 years of work. I wonder if the Livermore Fire Dept. would trade the bulb for a couple of MDCs, a thin client, some FDM software and a case of CHARGE...

Anonymous letter regarding editorial from last month.

Well, it's taken me a lot of work. I had to scan it. Convert it to a jpeg. Load it up. Link it. And here it is! I think it's worth it. To read this beauty, simply click on the title. As best I can tell, the letter is one of disapproval for my editorial in last month's WORKER. But, I'll leave that up to you, gentle reader, to decipher. My thanks to this anonymous "wife" of a firefighter for taking the time to write. I don't think you read my editorial before you responded to it, but that's okay. I appreciate the time you put into this and hopefully others will too!

P.S. "Mrs." Anonymous, remember you can always comment on the blog anonymously too.

A reply to Deputy Mayor Lynch's link to the Journal of Business article..

Haven't heard anything from anyone regarding this email I sent a couple of weeks ago. You can view the attachment by clicking the title above. It is curiouser and curiouser that we are projected for deeper and deeper deficits at the same time Spokane gets to be a hotter and hotter market, and the economy is surging here. Something just doesn't add up.

Seattle is hiring dozens of new firefighters, yet we're still severely understaffed. Strange indeed.

From: Griffith, John Sent: Tue 3/28/2006 11:30 AM
To: Feist, Marlene; Lynch, Jack; Hession, Dennis
Cc: Bacon, Michael; Borg, Gregory; Vietzke, Mark
Subject: RE: Journal of Business editorial on City budget
Attachments: JOBeditoct2705.jpg(430KB)

Hi Marlene, In light of the editorial from the Journal of Business editorial Dep Mayor Lynch had you forward citywide, I am requesting that an editorial that I wrote for the Journal of Business (10/27/05) also be forwarded to all city employees. This editorial was written before the lidlift vote and also before our union voted for each member to donate 24 hours of free labor to the city. But, I think the gist of the piece is still pertinent.

Thank you for your consideration, and if you decide that it's appropriate to forward this on, you will find the article attached as a jpeg. If you would rather have it in another format, I will gladly provide it.

Many thanks,

John Griffith
Local 29

Local 1919 Cheney Firefighters Golf Tournament

This is their 4th Annual Golf Classic. If you, or someone you know, is interested in playing and/or sponsoring a hole, please contact Donovan Cathey. He can e-mail you the forms and any other information. It's on May 19th at Indian Canyon. This is a great event (so I've been told by golfers) that really does a lot to help MDA Washington.

donovancathey@hotmail.com

An invitation from Dean Carr...

The Spokane SaberCats men's minor league football team is starting it's second season this Saturday April 1 at 2 PM at Mead High School. I have had several people ask me if I am playing for the Shock or am involved with them. I am not. I'm trying to make this team that I own a success. I could always use a few volunteers to help with stuff during the games or if you just want to come and watch, we do have a $5 ticket for police, fire, and military. I am not playing this year, as Tippy has finally put her foot down about me taking the chance on getting hurt. I just wanted to use this forum as another opportunity to get the word out about the team to everybody on the job that I haven't been able to talk to.

If you would like to volunteer, or buy tickets, or just have a question about the team please give me a call at 951-3725.

Thanks,
Dean Carr

When organizations listen to the workers (the unions) they profit...

This is a link is to an article from the Christian Science Monitor. It tells the story of one airline whose management listened to what workers had to say - and turned their red ink into black.

I link this in response to Dep Mayor Lynch's desire (sent through Marlene Feist's email) for city workers to read a recent editorial from Spokane's Journal of Business. This article alludes that unions are to blame (at least partially) for the city's financial state.

And speaking of the city's financial state, a casual observer traveling our bustling streets would conclude that business has never been better. Are we still in the hole? Strange.

Those of us who were at the Public Safety Committee, meeting months ago, remember Mr. Lynch's umbrage when city council members wanted to revisit the AMR contract. He was downright angry that the union, along with the city council, wanted to open the contract up for scrutiny. This scrutiny has opened the door for city coffers to swell with potential penalties paid by AMR to Spokane for contract violations. More importantly, this scrutiny has righted a wrong, and has served Spokane's citizens well.

I think our citizens are beginning to see Local 29 for what we are - an organization that wants to see that citizens are well-served, an organization that wants to protect citizens' lives, property and their pocketbooks. In short, our citizens are beginning to realize that this union (and many others) are in their corner. And knowing how Mr. Lynch feels about us, this has got to hurt.

I wrote an editorial for the Journal of Business last November. I will ask Mr. Lynch for equal time using our city e-mail, as he has.

In the meantime, spread the link above. Unions are saving businesses. Unions are protecting the notion of livable wages in the United States - and a middle class. Unions are protecting the family. Unions have been, and always will be, a voice that calls for accountability, scrutiny and clarity in our government. Ours is one of the few voices left. Don't let it be silenced - our country and our city are depending on us!

John Griffith
Local 29

Line of Duty Death - Ocean Shores

Ocean Shores Captain Robert McLaughlin died during a surf rescue drill. Memorial service is on March 29th at 2:00 pm. More details at the link above.

LOOKING BACK - A post from December 30 2004 - From Bill Jackman: SPOKANE FIRE CHIEF FACES TOUGH DECISION

Just when you think things around here can't get any worse, we havereached a new level of bungling in our EMS system. For the past couple years, every 911 patient transport has been billed at the higher ALS rate. Yep, even a simple BLS transport for constipation has been billed at the higher ALS rate.

Even if all the ALS work is done by the Spokane Fire Department, the patient is still billed for ALS by the ambulance company. Furthermore, 60% of the patient transports were suppose to be billed at the lower BLS rate. Since they are now billed at the higher ALS rate it means an extra $700,000.00 dollars per year for AMR! And consequently, the people that we are supposed to protect - are forced to pay for something that they are not receiving.

It's like ordering basic cable service (BLS) and receiving basic cable service - but people are being forced to pay for deluxe cable service (ALS). The really reprehensible aspect of this, we provide most of the ALS care at no expense to the patient.

EMS is 80% of what we do and nobody I've talked to in Spokane knows anything about this billing practice . You would think with the EMS levy just barely passing, we would take EMS issues around here more seriously. AMR billing in Seattle was contacted and they confirmed this billing practice - it's called ALS Emergency Mandated.

There may be a ray of hope out of this mess. People have been charged for ALS when the SFD Paramedic accompanies the patient to the care facility. This is a prohibited charge under the contract. Just guess how many times a year our Medics ride-in where the fine can be as high as $5,000.00 dollars for each violation. The penalties could be in the millions, but our Chief has to make the effort to fine the ambulance company.

The down side of this is how public perception about SFD EMS might change. In the future people may think EMS stands for Emergency Medical Scandal. Fundamental reform and investigation about this matter is warranted.

Happy New Year!

Bill Jackman

Strengthening our levies...

Thankfully, we passed our lid lift levy last year. Our citizens spoke up for us overwhelmingly and we were able to maintain the same understaffed level of service. The alternative would have been disasterous for the fire department and the citizens of Spokane.

I guess where I'm going with this is, I am very interested in making sure the public knows we are good servants with their money. A lot of the editorials about the situation at Stn 17 really made me aware that the citizens view the fire stations as their property and rightfully so. I believe we will soon be looking to renew the levy which helped build new firehouses, perform upgrades on exisiting firehouses and purchase new apparatus.

We heard from citizens who wondered why we were building new stations, as we were laying off firefighters. We awkwardly explained the "two different pots of money" phenomenon.

In my opinion (and it may be an uneducated opinion), the two most important levies we face are the lidlift (up for renewal in another year and a half) and the EMS levy (up for renewal in another 4 and a half years - I think). These are the levies that keep firefighters working for the city. The EMS levy must pass by over 60%, and it was real close last time.

Before we start on the remodel of the administration building and Station One, a remodel that will relocate equipment and personnel out of the area they protect, I would like to know how much money is left in this levy.

If there is a substantial amount, is there any mechanism to allow voters (or the city council) to put this money aside for paying to keep firefighters on the job? Maybe it could be a fund we draw from for the next 10 years. Maybe we could even give the money back to the taxpayers to show that we've been, and will continue to be, good stewards. What kind of message would we send the taxpayers if we said, "We've accomplished many of the big projects we wanted to do, with the money you've given us. But, we know that we're going to have to ask you for money later - just to make sure we have firefighters who will respond to your home in an emergency, and times are tight. So, we're going to give you back the remainder of your levy money, or we'd like to set it aside for personnel costs - your choice."

I don't know if this is something we could legally do, or if it's even a good idea. I would sure like to hear what you think. If you have some ideas, or want to comment, just click on the comment button and you can leave a post.

Thanks, John

If you would like to support the union's "service and protection through vigilance" for our citizens, here's an invite Bill Jackman received-

Bill,
This coming Friday, 3/17, at 2:30 PM, we will be arguing Jerry Lueck's motion to dismiss our Consumer Protection Act claims against him. The hearing will be before Judge Leveque, whose chambers are in Room 403 of the Spokane County Courthouse. If you and some of your Firefighter friends could join us, we'd appreciate your support.
Thanks . . .
Roger


D. Roger Reed
Reed & Giesa P.S.
drreed@reedgiesa.com
Phone: (509) 838-8341

KXLY report - latest on the AMR story...

A big story in the Spokesman-Review this morning. Here's the latest from KXLY. You can click on their picture to view the story.