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."

California Firefighters - no luv for the guv...

Brothers in California practicing strict Body Substance Isolation procedures. Doubt if Ahnold called them girly men.

Your Fire Department

For those of you who have been trying to watch the lid-lift ad on the station computers, we should be getting Quicktime installed soon - thanks to Kristy. Until then, here's a movie from 1949 that will have to do. Maybe we should do something similar...

Spokesman-Review Slideshow of 10/27/05 Warehouse Fire...

Never really mentioned in this morning's SR article was the impact that next year's potential layoffs and station closures will have on fire suppression. I heard that the first-in to the house fire on Alice (which was called in at the same time as some crews were going back into service from the warehouse fire) was a South Hill rig.

This is what happens when a fire department is understaffed. Engine and ladder companies, if available, come from further distances. The success rate for fire suppression and EMS procedures plummets.

So, right now voters have a choice to maintain their level of service at this insufficient level, or to degrade it even further.

We've lost buildings that we wouldn't have lost last year, due to the layoffs. And like I've said before, very seldom does the news cover our daily successes. What would they show? A knockdown confined to one room? We're usually picking up, by the time they get there. And there's no story. But, when we have to go defensive on a fire, it's quite a photo-op. One can only imagine the volume of heart-breaking stories and the hours of spectacular footage we'll see on the news and in the paper next year, if there are more layoffs and station closures.

For those of you in the public reading this, this isn't a threat. It's just common sense.

Lid Lift Levy Commercial

Will start airing tomorrow. Click on link (title) to view. May take a few minutes to load up. Also, there are hundreds of yard signs for us to put up, waiting at the union office. This is our only chance to prevent major layoffs, again. Thanks to all who voluntarilly contribute to the union's political fund. That's where we're getting the money to campaign for the lid lift.

Saying goodbye to Rod...

We'll all miss him. A nice guy and yep, truly a tough son of a... Rod's voice, his presence, his smarts and his strength are really going to missed by all of us who ever had a chance to work with him. Everybody probably already knows the visitation and funeral arrangements. But, if you have a memory of Rod and would like to leave it as a comment, under this post, or e-mail it in, that would be kinda cool.

Thanks, John

Stagg's post to the Mayor and City Council

Eric invites feedback from you. You can e-mail him or easily post a comment to this story.

Eric's e-mail address:

badbow111@yahoo.com

Mayor west and members of the council,

I feel compelled to convey a breaking news story coming from New Orleans as it directly correlates to our current situation. In their environment, the weather has taken a disastrous toll on the finances of the city. In our quiet corner of the country, its stagnant tax revenue, the destructive effects of I-695/I-747, and skyrocketing costs of health care. Though the sources are different, the outcomes are quite similar. Both of our cities face budget shortfalls resulting in catastrophic staffing losses in the city. In our fair city, we took the drastic measures that leave a poor taste in the mouth of all involved, but life has progressed.
Mayor Ray Nagan of New Orleans looked at what the citizens pay for, what the basic services of a city are, and he made an incredibly deep cut of 40% of his overall city staffing. He did not remove a single member of public safety and basic services. His response was to cut the services which cities have been adding for the past 100 years, the small services which make a city beautiful and charming, familiar and appealing. Mayor Nagan knew that the basic services were a foundation to build his city on as it regained its strength economically.
I think this is a position we in the city of Spokane can take at this time of budgetary crisis. Police, Fire, Water, Streets, Public Works. These are the foundation that we should keep in tact, and should build upon to not only improve our credit rating with S&P, but to draw new business to our town, knowing they will have respectable insurance rates, protection from the ills of society, functioning basic services of water and sewer, and the streets project which was so valiantly passed not long ago.
Below you will find the article the above pertains to. I implore you all take a considerable look at it, regardless of the tax increases pending, regardless of the election process on the table. These are steps we can take now to improve the outlook in the 3, 5 and 10 year steps to returning this city to what it once was and could be. Please dont hesitate to email me back if you have positive or negative feedback, other information, or just a general rant, I would appreciate any open dialogue that can be provided outside of labor-management meetings, which stifle the speech of the many so often.

Mayor of New Orleans Announces Layoffs
October 04, 2005 6:34 PM EDT
NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin said Tuesday the city is laying off as many as 3,000 employees - or about half its workforce - because of the financial damage inflicted on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.

Nagin announced with "great sadness" that he had been unable to find the money to keep the workers on the payroll.

He said only non-essential workers will be laid off and that no firefighters or police will be among those let go.

"I wish I didn't have to do this. I wish we had the money, the resources to keep these people," Nagin said. "The problem we have is we have no revenue streams."

Nagin described the layoffs as "pretty permanent" and said that the city will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to notify municipal employees who fled the city in the aftermath of Katrina, which struck about a month ago.

The mayor said the move will save about $5 million to $8 million of the city's monthly payroll of $20 million. The layoffs will take place over the next two weeks.

"We talked to local banks and other financial institutions and we are just not able to put together the financing necessary to continue to maintain City Hall's staffing at its current levels," the mayor said.

Meanwhile, former President Clinton met with dozens of New Orleans-area evacuees staying at a shelter in Baton Rouge's convention center. And officials ended their door-to-door sweep for corpses in Louisiana with the death toll Tuesday at 972 - far fewer than the 10,000 the mayor had feared at one point. Mississippi's Katrina death toll was 221.

A company hired by the state to remove bodies will remain on call if any others are found.

Clinton, working with former President Bush to raise money for victims, shook hands and chatted with the evacuees, some of whom have been sleeping on cots in the Rivercenter's vast concrete hall for more than a month and complained of lack of showers, clean clothes, privacy and medical care.

"My concern is to listen to you ... and learn the best way to spend this money we've got," Clinton said.

Robert Warner, 51, of New Orleans said he and others have struggled to get private housing set up through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"We've been mired in the bureaucratic red tape since Day One," he said.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved.


Thank you for your time and consideration.

Eric Staggs Engine 3 D shift

New Orleans Mayor lays off everybody except nonessential Workers. NO FIREFIGHTERS OR POLICE WERE LAID-OFF!

Eric Staggs wrote an e-mail to city leaders regarding Mayor Nagin's actions. When I get his permission, I will post it here. I guess Mayor Nagin didn't have time to do a Priorities of Government Survey, like Spokane did. Oh wait, the POG survey said that Police and Fire services were the services that citizens would never want to see cut. And yet... Strange.

Interesting Transport Story...

Man found driving ambulance with dead deer

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A man reported missing from a Florida hospital was found in North Carolina dressed like a doctor and driving a stolen ambulance with a dead deer wedged in the back, authorities said.
Leon Holliman Jr., 37, was reported missing from a River Region Human Services facility in Jacksonville last month.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol found him driving the ambulance with the deer on Sunday.

"I don't know how the man got it up in there," said Sgt. Robert Pearson. "It was a six point buck."

It wasn't known where Holliman got the deer, which had been dead for some time, Pearson said.

Holliman was admitted to a North Carolina hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Police said they would decide whether to charge Holliman after that evaluation is complete.

Lots of pictures from Gonzo!

To see a larger version of these photos, just click on the picture.