June |
UFOA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
June 10, 2004
President's Report
- Chief of Department Appointment
- Bravest Scholarship
- Nominations For Election to Executive Board
- Labor Management
- Albany Legislative Report
- Random Drug Testing
- Deferred Compensation Plan Adds Self-Directed Brokerage Windows
- Blood Drive
- Police & Fire Widows and Children's Picnic
- City Council
- Overtime Average
- Uniformed Vacancy Report
- Judicial Proceedings
Chief of Department Appointment:
According to the terms of our stipulation with the City, The Department was required to appoint the new Chief of Department by Tuesday, June 15th. Due to last minute changes in the scoring that occurred due to protests, the Department requested a two week extension on appointment. To avoid possible litigation and in attempt to be fair to all candidates, the UFOA has agreed to the two week extension. Appointment to Chief of Department must now be made on or before June 28th.
The Executive Board would like to welcome the 2004/05 Bravest Scholarship winners and their families. Since its inception in 1999, the UFOA has awarded fifty-seven (57) scholarships to the children of our fallen brothers. The scholarship award is $4,000 for the first year of school followed by $2,000 for the remaining 3 years of undergraduate study for a total scholarship of $10,000.
The 2004/05 winners are:
ANDREW ESPOSITO-LT. MICHAEL ESPOSITO-SQUAD 1
CATIE HIGGINS-LT. TIMOTHY HIGGINS-SQUAD 252
LISA WITTECK-LT. KENNETH WITTECK-LADDER 37
DANIEL QUILTY-LT. MICHAEL QUILTY-LADDER 11
MICHAEL FEINBERG-FF ALAN FEINBERG-BATT.9
TARA FRANKLIN-FF DONALD FRANKLIN-LADDER 44
JAKE HALLORAN-LT. VINCENT HALLORAN-LADDER 8
KATHRYN HEALEY-LT. MICHAEL HEALEY-SQUAD 41
MICHAEL CRISCI-LT. JOHN CRISCI-HAZ-MAT 1
Tonight we are pleased to introduce Daniel Quilty one of our Scholarship winners, to the membership.
This past month has been a busy one for the UFOA. On May 18, Steve Cassidy and I attended the 9/11 Commission hearing in Manhattan. It was painful listening to Von Essen, Kerik and Sheirer. They avoided answering tough questions and claimed there was no lack of coordination between FDNY and NYPD. When the questions became difficult, they attacked the Commission for questioning the heroics of firefighters and police officers. My view of the questioning was quite different. No one on the Commission was questioning the heroic work of cops and firefighters, but rather the Commission was asking tough questions about policy, planning and incident command. The fact of the matter is that the NYPD and FDNY established independent command posts on 9/11 and never communicated with each other. AUC 169 was never implemented. Kerik claimed that there was a ranking NYPD officer with Chief Ganci, but we know that wasn't true.
Only by understanding the past policies of New York City incident command procedures (or lack of them) can we make our argument that the new City Incident Command System is nothing more than a formal document that puts in writing the failures of NYC's pre-9/11 Incident Command System.
Steve Cassidy and I have sent a formal letter to Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge, requesting to meet with him to discuss our concerns of the City Incident Command System. We have also met with representatives of FDNY Haz-Mat to assist us making our case in Washington.
On Friday evening, May 21, a fire on Wythe Place in Brooklyn claimed the lives of four people. A total of seven 10-45's were transmitted for this fire. Ladder 119 was the first due truck assigned to the box and they were out of service for tactical training. Engine 209 would have been second due engine company at the box. As you know, Engine 209 was shuttered last year due to budget cuts.
We held a news conference Saturday afternoon with the UFA and informed the public exactly what happens when firehouses are closed. Of course the FDNY was quick to defend the response time, but the fact is that the average response time in Brooklyn was 3 minutes, 50 seconds. The 10-84 time was 4:23. Mayor Bloomberg made a cold, callous statement in the press, saying that the victims were dead before the FDNY's arrival. Obviously he did not speak to the firefighters who responded. The New York Post also took the opportunity to criticize the politicians, community activists and union leaders who dared to say that closing fire houses contributed to the deaths of the victims in Brooklyn. Please note that the editorial was written by Robert McManus. This is the same guy who said “American Ground” was a literary masterpiece. Enough said.
The Police/Fire coalition has applied for permits to demonstrate at the Republican National Convention in August. We will be running an ad in the Washington Post and the national edition of the New York Times. The intent of the ads will be to stress to the Republicans that their Republican Mayor Bloomberg, is not negotiating in good faith with police officers and fire fighters.
This past Tuesday, a mass rally was held by PBA, UFA and UFT. All supervising unions of the NYPD and FDNY were also invited to participate. I want to thank all those members who took the time from their busy lives to attend this historic demonstration.
All too often, labor fails to show solidarity and gets caught up in petty issues. Brothers and Sisters, now is the time to remain strong. We will only prevail if we show strength through solidarity. We saw Mayor Bloomberg's glib remarks after the Rally when he said that it was nice to see police and fire working together for a change. Please see the “battle of the badges” for what it is: a way for management to divide and conquer.
I want to continue the theme set at Tuesday's rally. Let's stay focused on our main agenda, “A Fair Contract”. We will begin Boro meetings starting later this month. We will address any issue you have and look to solve any inter agency dispute on a union level.
Nominations For Election to Executive Board
According to the UFOA Constitution and by-laws Article II, Section 1, (c) states - Nominating petitions shall be received by the Executive Board during the period from the opening of the regular meeting in May until the close of New Business at the regular meeting in June, or as may be provided for under "Special Elections". Accordingly, nominations are now open and will close at the end of New Business tonight. If there are any contested positions, ballots will be mailed to all members on Friday, June 11 th and must be returned to American Arbitration Association by Friday, June 25 th . Results of the election will be announced on the hotline the same day.
The Committee met with the Department on May 26 th . The following issues were discussed:
CFR-D Protocol conflicts with the NYS criteria - The Department will continue to maintain the blood pressure and rapid take-down provisions which were removed from the NY State protocol. Newly appointed firefighters are currently receiving CFR-D training at the Fire Academy.
Reduction / Elimination of Soc.Sec.Nos. usage on Department documents - The Department has made progress. The SS# has been replaced by the Payroll Reference Number on Pay Checks, Stubs, TPRs, and Forms FS 250-260-270. (DO 50'2004) Additional measures are being taken to further reduce the appearance of SS #s in other situations. If any member becomes aware of additional instances where SS#s are being used, notify the Labor Management Committee
Suspension of Outside Activities - A formalized procedure is being established to monitor the Temperature Humidity Index (THI) and integrate the THI with the Heat Index which has been established by FEMA.
Bunker Gear Carrying Bags - The total cost of issuing a gear bag to every member is approximately $450,000. The Department has secured funding from the Leary Foundation in the amount of $160,000. Several options are being pursued to obtain the remaining balance.
Excessive Acting Out of Title - During the last several years, an increasing number of BCs have been taken off the line for training, special projects, and administrative duties. Because of the continuing need for Haz-Mat and Terrorism training this situation will persist for the foreseeable future. In order to reduce the number of ABCs, to a safer and more manageable level, the Department is requesting additional Battalion Chief's lines in the Budget. Another alternative, if this is not successful, is to promote over quota in the BC's rank. The Executive Board will monitor the level of acting out of title on a continuing basis.
The State Legislature will be ending its regular session on June 22, 2004. For the 27 th consecutive year, both houses of the Legislature have passed a bill to increase the pensions of police and fire Line of Duty widows by 3%. It will soon reach the Governor's desk, and he is expected to sign it.
A comprehensive bill to protect the workers at Ground Zero against future illnesses connected to the hazardous conditions at the site has been introduced in both houses, and is expected to pass. Last year, Mayor Bloomberg attacked the proposal as too costly, and Governor Pataki reluctantly vetoed it, but left the door open to a slightly rewritten version. We expect the Mayor to oppose it again when it reaches the Governor, but we are hopeful that with the Republican National Convention opening in New York City in August, the Governor will sign it.
On Monday, the City Council approved a Home Rule Message for a bill that would allow New York City police officers and firefighters to teach in the public schools without waiving their pensions. This bill passed the Senate last year but failed in the Assembly on the last night.
We are also very close to winning an important battle in the war with Mayor Bloomberg over the closing of six engine companies. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has proposed the creation of a Public Safety Fund that will direct about $25 million annually to the city. It will be left to the City Council to determine how those funds will be spent, and the Legislature is seeking assurances from Council Speaker Miller that the first priority will be the reopening of the six engine companies. There is some concern in Albany that whatever the Legislature and the Council do in that direction, the Mayor will refuse to spend the money on reopening the companies, but the UFOA is lobbying hard to get the Public Safety Fund passed first, and we will worry about the continuing war with Bloomberg second. The new Public Safety Fund idea will create a state revenue stream we've never had before, and while Fire will have to share it with police and probably EMS, at least it sets up a whole new pot of money to compete for each year. The Public Safety Fund is tied to renewal of the red light camera law, which expires June 30. I think it is fair to say that without all the hard work and effort by the UFOA in the last year (particularly the initiation of an Assembly investigation by Assemblyman Jeff Klein of the Bronx) we wouldn't be at this point in the battle to reopen the firehouses. I also want to take this opportunity to appeal to the membership to keep the Executive Board informed of any incident that occurs in the neighborhoods where the six engine companies once operated.
We attended a meeting earlier today, and we continue to negotiate the implementation of random drug testing.
Deferred Compensation Plan Adds Self-Directed Brokerage Windows
The Deferred Compensation Plan will offer you the option of investing in a SELF-DIRECTED BROKERAGE (SDB) account through Harrisdirect. The SDB option will be available starting on 7/1/04. If you opt into the account, you may invest in any of over 9,500 mutual funds.
The SDB account funding and rules are as follows:
- Only mutual funds will be available.
- All types of mutual funds will be offered. You may choose from no load funds, no transaction fee funds, and load funds.
- To be eligible to open an SDB account, you must have a minimum of $5,000 in your 457 account, or your 401(k) plan account.
- You must transfer not less than $1,000 from your 457 or your 401(k) plan account to your SDB.
- You may not transfer more than 20% of your 457 on 401(k) plan to the SDB account.
- There is no limit on the number of transaction in the brokerage account that you may elect to make.
- The fee for the SDB will $12.50 per quarter. The fee for your 457 or 401(k) will remain the same. To open an SDB Deferred Compensation Plan participants must call Harrisdirect at (877) 355-7040. You will need to provide your group plan number to Harrisdirect when you enroll.
The SDB is not for everyone. However, it will be available to those plan participants that wish to invest in other mutual funds.
On Friday, June 25, 2004, New York City Firefighters from Putnam and Northern Westchester are hosting a Blood Drive to take place at the Daniel O'Brian V.F.W. Hall located at Gleneida Ave (Rt. 52), Carmel, NY (Between George's Restaurant & Drew Methodist Church), from 2:30 until 8pm. Food and refreshments provided. Because of summer vacations the blood supply is very low and demand is high. All who can, are encouraged to give. Walk-ins are welcome. For info contact: Paul DeLeo L41, Tom Burke L41 (718)430-0290, Lt Jim McGowan, UFOA (212) 293-9300, Lt Denis Hanrahan E96 (718) 430-0296.
Police & Fire Widows and Children's Picnic
The UFOA would like to thank all those members who volunteered their time to work at the Police & Fire “Rusty Staub” Widows and Children's picnic at Shea Stadium on May 25, 2004.
Last week, members of the UFOA attended a meeting with members of the City Council (Fire and Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committees) to discuss our concerns over the Police/Fire protocols on the Incident Command System as Hazardous Materials protocol. The Council expressed their concern and the UFOA questioned whether these protocols comply with State guidelines and Federal mandate for a Unified Command. The City Council has a hearing scheduled for the I.C.S. on Tuesday, June 15 th at 10:00 AM. The Department is expected to testify and will be questioned on these protocols.
Overtime Average
as of May 20, 2004
Lieutenant Hours Captain Hours SOC 225 SOC 244 Div 1 248 Div 1 170 Div 3 155 Div 3 173 Div 6 168 Div 6 217 Div 7 116 Div 7 152 Div 8 246 Div 8 229 Div 11 269 Div 11 286 Div 13 149 Div 13 169 Div 14 211 Div 14 143 Div 15 129 Div 15 152 AVERAGE 192 AVERAGE 194
Uniform Vacancy Report
(Effective June 23,2004)
Lieutenant SFM Captain Battalion Chief Deputy Chief DAC AC Asst. Ch. FM Chief Fire Marshal Administrative Fire Marshals - We have written to Commissioner Scoppetta (with a copy of our letter to City Hall) and advised him of our intent to initiate litigation to finally resolve this issue, unless the Department implements promptly a settlement proposal for a new title with an increased salary rate. OLR has responded on behalf of the Mayor's office to seek a resolution.
VSF Proceedings - A motion for summary judgment to dismiss the action is now pending in the U.S. Southern District Court.
Re-Employed Retirees - We also pressed in the letter to the Commissioner the issue of the Department's compliance with Section 211 of the Retirement and Social Security Law, which requires special approvals for pensioners to accept City employment and receive annual income over $27,500. We are awaiting further response from the Department on this issue, although it appears that possibly only one retiree exceeds this earnings threshold.
to top
Copyright © 1999-2004
Uniformed Fire Officers Association
225 Broadway, Suite 401, New York, N.Y. 10007
Send comments regarding site design to webmaster@ufoa.org