July |
UFOA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
July 8, 2004
President's Report
- President's Report
- World Trade Center Exposure
- Random Drug Testing
- Republican National Convention Staffing
- Albany Update
- Project Liberty
- Member Data Record Update
- Fire Fighter Overtime Protected Final FLSA Regulations Issued
- UFOA Catastrophe Medical Insurance Plan
- 9/11 Fr. Mychal F. Judge Walk of Remembrance
- Engine 205/Ladder 107 Make Donation to the Bravest Scholarship Fund
- Fire Fighter Combat Challenge
- IAFF Burn Foundation
- Job Opportunity
- Overtime Average
- Uniformed Vacancy Report
- Judicial Proceedings
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Tonight we welcome two guest speakers. First, we would like to introduce the new Chief of Department, Peter Hayden.
Our other speaker this evening is Jessica Morris, Director of Community Relations, New York City Department of Heath, World Trade Center Registry.
At the June membership meeting many questions were by raised by the membership regarding the long term effects of the WTC exposure. Although many members have developed respiratory problems and have sought treatment, it is unknown what symptoms and diseases members will develop in the future.
This past Tuesday, July 6 th , representatives from the UFA and UFOA met with the Federal EPA at IAFF Headquarters in Washington, DC. Also attending the meeting was a civil attorney who specializes in litigation involving exposure to toxins.
The following Q & A will answer some of the questions about litigation that were raised by the membership last month. These answers were provided by an attorney affiliated with UFA Attorney, Michael Block.
Q: Why has a lawsuit not been brought on as a class action?
A: There are too many differences in medical conditions and histories of affected firefighter/officers. The one issue common to all firefighter/officers is the City's failure to provide proper respiratory protection at the WTC site. (Wrongdoing.)
Q: How can this help our members who were at the WTC on 9/11 and for the following months?
A: We have a process in place to not only file claims, but get them deemed “timely” by the courts. So long as members have developed new symptoms/failed MC test within last year or so, they can participate-unless, of course, they received benefits from the Victims' Compensation Fund.
Q: What are our chances of going ahead with a lawsuit? How do we go about it? Who can file?
A: We believe chances are good. In many cases, medical office records prove injuries are related to WTC exposure. The remaining obstacles are a) proving wrongdoing by the City and b) establishing claims are “timely”.
Dr. Kelly and/or Dr. Prezant will speak at the September General Membership Meeting to address our concerns and answer any questions regarding WTC exposure. The UFOA is also a participating member of the WTC Medical Monitoring Program. This Program has representatives from the FDNY Medical Bureau, Mt. Sinai Hospital and labor representatives. The program will have oversight of the long term medical monitoring of uniformed members and all civilian exposures at the WTC site.
We have been notified by the Office of Labor Relations that the Department intends to begin random drug testing effective August 1st. Many of our concerns have been addressed in this program, but we continue to raise our issues and reservations with OLR and the Department. The August 1st deadline may be optimistic, but I want to again caution the membership that random drug testing will likely become a reality in the near future. If you have a substance abuse problem, we urge you to seek counseling and treatment immediately. You may do so through the FDNY Counseling Services Unit or a private provider of your choice. If a member seeks assistance, he or she will not be subject to discipline. A member cannot do so without consequence after he or she has been selected for random drug testing. There are many options for you and funding is available in many cases through the Red Cross and Project Liberty. If you need help, please call the UFOA and speak with one of your trustees.
Republican National Convention Staffing
Steve Cassidy and I met with Chiefs Hayden, Cassano, Ramos and Weinlein regarding special staffing for the Convention. At this time, the plan calls for removing members from the chart on Friday, August 27 th @ 1800 hrs. and returning them to the chart on Saturday, September 4 th @ 1800 hrs. They will be looking for about 200 volunteers. All volunteers will be guaranteed 24 hours of OT and will probably get more. There will be two staging areas for members to report, one in Brooklyn and one in the Bronx. Members would report there and then be bused to MSG. (The Republican National Convention will be held at Madison Square Garden August 30-September 2.)
Both houses of the State Legislature passed the World Trade Center presumptive diseases bill and it is waiting transmittal to the Governor. This is a very valuable bill for our members, in that it gives them a shot at coverage for serious illnesses after they retire. All those who can document that they worked at the site must register for the coverage and they have a two-year window to do so. A similar bill was vetoed by the Governor last year after Mayor Bloomberg opposed it on the basis of cost to the city. The Mayor's legislative office has already indicated he will oppose it again. The UFOA will have a detailed analysis of the legislation for every member—active and retired---if and when Governor Pataki signs it into law.
Both houses also passed a 3% Cost of Living Adjustment for spouses of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
Both houses passed legislation that would extend for a second year the obligation for public employees who had been called to military service to repay any loans they had taken from retirement systems.
Also, the Senate passed a bill that would allow NYC police officers and firefighters to teach in NYC public schools and collect their pensions (the 211 Waiver bill). The Assembly did not act on this bill before the end of the regular session, but it remains alive until the end of the year.
Also still alive is a bill that would create a Public Safety Fund of approximately $25 million annually, and the appropriations from these revenues would be determined by the City Council. This proposal is part of a bill to extend the use of red light cameras in New York City and we are hopeful we will be able to pass this legislation when the Legislature returns later this year. The red light camera authorization expires December 1, and prospects are good that legislation will be passed and signed before then. Our aim is to make sure the Public Safety Fund feature, which has been proposed by the Assembly, remains in the bill.
The federal crisis counseling program set up to help New Yorkers cope with the aftermath of 9/11 has been extended through December 31, 2004. Project Liberty offers free counseling and provides money to the FDNY's CSU for counseling services was scheduled to end in July.
The UFOA is currently updating all member records. You will be receiving a data record sheet with all the information currently on file with the UFOA. We ask that you make all corrections and add any additional information that is missing. The sheets, even if all correct and filled in, must be returned to the UFOA office. We are asking for your cooperation in this matter.
This following article was reproduced from the IAFF LEADER newsletter, Vol.16, No. 3:
Fire Fighter Overtime Protected Final FLSA Regulations Issued
The Department of Labor has issued its final version of regulations governing the white collar exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is the first major overhaul of the FLSA in almost 50 years.
Thanks to efforts by the IAFF, fire fighter overtime pay remains protected under these regulations.
In the end, the provisions only modify the white collar exemptions pertaining to administrative, executive and professional employees, and do not impact the 212-hour/28-day work period for fire fighter overtime. Any IAFF affiliates that maintain collective bargaining agreements that include overtime provisions are governed by those agreements, not FLSA.
Most significantly, the final regulations include a completely new provision, section 541.3(b)(1), which provides that the white collar exemptions do not apply to "fire fighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, ambulance personnel, rescue workers, hazardous materials workers and similar employees, regardless of rank or pay level, who perform work such as preventing, controlling or extinguishing fires of any type or rescuing fire, crime or accident victims."
This provision also states, "for example, a police officer or fire fighter whose primary duty is to investigate crimes or fight fires is not exempt under the Act merely because the police officer or fire fighter also directs the work of other employees in the conduct of an investigation or fighting a fire."
The IAFF was concerned that the preliminary version of the regulations issued last year potentially subjected paramedics and fire fighters to the "professional" exemption by allowing employers to satisfy the educational requirements of this exemption through a combination of work experience and only limited formal training. The preliminary version also redefined the executive exemption, which excludes management employees from overtime, in a way that could have allowed employers to exempt first-line supervisors, such as fire lieutenants, who are currently entitled to overtime.
The IAFF opposed these and other aspects of the initial regulations in 40 pages of comments to the Department of Labor. (A copy of these comments may be found in the archives section of the IAFF web site, dated July 11, 2003). The final regulations fully addressed these concerns by making it clear that only employees who work in a profession exempted under the current regulations are properly exempted under the new regulations, and that fire fighters and paramedics do not work in such a profession.
The IAFF's concern regarding fire lieutenants was also completely resolved by the final regulations, which clarify that officers who are in charge of a shift, but not in charge of a station, continue to be entitled to overtime pay. In fact, on this issue, the regulations state that "[s]ome police officers, fire fighters, paramedics and EMTs treated as exempt executives under the current regulations may be entitled to overtime under the final rule."
Important Information From Marsh Affinity Regarding the UFOA Catastrophe Medical Insurance Plan
A recent accounting audit of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association Catastrophe Major Medical Insurance Plan revealed a system generated error, which caused a group of approximately 140 insureds to miss deductions taken from their payroll or pension check. The system error has been corrected and catastrophe major medical policies have remained in force for those individuals affected despite the deduction error.
Premium notices for the outstanding amount of premium owed to bring these policies up to date are being sent to those individuals not having deductions taken from their check. This amount represents premium due from the last deduction to 10/1/04. Once payments are received and posted to corresponding accounts, regular deductions will then resume.
Apologies are seldom sufficient in situations like this but we do hope that these affected individuals will accept ours in the spirit that it is offered. As UFOA's chosen Insurance Administrator of the Catastrophe Major Medical Plan, we are dedicated to giving our insureds the first class service they deserve. Should you have any questions, please contact the plan administrator, Marsh Affinity Group Services, at 800-503-9230.
9/11 Fr. Mychal F. Judge Walk Of Remembrance
- Sunday, September 5 th , 2004 at 9:30 AM. The walk will begin in the Quarters of Engine 1/Ladder 24 (142 West 31 st Street between 6 th and 7 th Ave's.). The rosary will be followed by a brief mass. Then the procession will walk to Ground Zero stopping at various firehouses and police precincts along the way. For further information, contact: Retired Lt. Bill Schillinger (917) 902-6689 (FDNY) or visit www.firefamilytransport.org and click “Walk of Remembrance”.
Engine 205/Ladder 107 Make Donation to the Bravest Scholarship Fund
After this year's Medal Day Ceremonies on June 2 nd , members of Engine 205/Ladder 107 presented the UFOA with a donation of $130,000 for the Bravest Scholarship Fund. The money was raised for the Fund through the sale of t-shirts, stickers and magnets. An additional donation of $130,000 was presented to the UFA's Widows' and Children's Fund.
Will be hosted by the South Portland Professional Fire Fighters Assn. in South Portland, Maine on September 25, 2004. This is the Northeast Regional Championships, being held for the first time in four years. The competition is open to teams and individuals. There will also be relay events. Anyone interested in competing can register online with On-Target at their website www.firefighterchallenge.com.
The IAFF is asking each local to distribute the brochures with Burn Prevention tips aimed at teenagers to the community. Battalion Delegates may pick up their envelopes at the end of the meeting.
Citizens Union Foundation will be hiring poll inspectors for the upcoming primary and general elections being held in New York City. The major responsibilities of a poll inspector include: opening the polls at 5:30am; verifying voter registration; providing emergency and affidavit ballots; tallying the vote totals; and closing the polls at 9:00pm. All inspectors are required to attend a three hour training session followed by an exam. Compensation is $25 for the training session and $200 for one election. If an inspector works two elections, the pay increases to $460, which includes a $35 bonus. If interested, please contact Jillian Matundan or Emma Roderick at 212-227-0342 ext. 44.
Overtime Average
as of June 19, 2004
Lieutenant Hours Captain Hours SOC 230 SOC 241 Div 1 253 Div 1 173 Div 3 159 Div 3 186 Div 6 187 Div 6 231 Div 7 119 Div 7 153 Div 8 263 Div 8 250 Div 11 266 Div 11 286 Div 13 151 Div 13 181 Div 14 201 Div 14 148 Div 15 113 Div 15 154 AVERAGE 194 AVERAGE 200
Uniform Vacancy Report
(Effective July 15,2004)
Lieutenant SFM Captain Battalion Chief Deputy Chief DAC AC Asst. Ch. FM Chief Fire Marshal Administrative Fire Marshals - We are still in negotiations on this issue.
VSF Proceedings - A motion for summary judgment to dismiss the action is pending in the U.S. Southern District Court. Final papers are due August 16, 2004.
Re-Employed Retirees - City Hall is now involved in this issue, although no resolution has yet been reached. Counsel has been instructed to analyze litigation options.
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