November

UFOA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
November 9, 2004

President's Report

Table of Contents

Message From IAFF President Harold Shaitberger

Now that the smoke has cleared, I wanted to send a note to say thank you and to say how proud I am of all of you.

I don't want to "spin" you here.  I am disappointed with the result of the presidential election.  It was a big play for our union, and I believe, even in defeat, it will pay off very well for our members in the long run.

We played at a level in this election that has raised our union up once again to an even higher standing.  We stood on our union's principle that we support the candidates that support fire fighters.  We had a strong candidate for President in John Kerry.   And at the end of the day, whether they came out for John or not, record numbers of our members participated and voted last Tuesday.

The intense support we saw for John, and the incredible levels of participation in our political program by our members across the country, underscores that the most important principle for which we stand, continues to hold true today -- that we support the right of all of our members to vote for the candidate of their choosing.

Although John Kerry didn't win this election, we did score a number of victories on November 2.  80% of IAFF-endorsed candidates won their respective congressional races.  IAFF members who ran for office won 73 percent of the races they entered.   Of the 69 IAFF members who stood for election for state legislative, fire commissioner seats, city council wards and county offices, 50 claimed victory.  315 IAFF members and family members hold publicly elected office -  the most ever.  And many of our affiliates were also successful in their campaigns on ballot measures in their jurisdictions.

Unlike most other unions, our policy of supporting those who support IAFF issues, no matter their political affiliation, meant that we contributed 35 percent of our PAC dollars to Republicans this year.  Because of that values-based system, we go into the next Congress, and you go to the state houses, with a tremendous number of friends ready to work with us.

Now, I can say without hesitation, that the IAFF endorsement, at every level of politics, is  the most sought after by candidates.  That bodes well for our union in the future.  And it's truly because of the work you and your members did these past few months.   For that, you deserve congratulations and thank you.

At the International, we are moving forward with the work of our union, re-evaluating and improving the services and resources we provide for our affiliates and members everyday.  As I continue to travel, talk with our members, and highlight what we are doing at the International, I will directly engage each and every member who wants to talk politics, and their personal view of what we did, right or wrong.   I think you should, too.  The fact that we have these healthy, and sometimes heated, debates with each other, while all continuing to work towards the same goal, just reinforces for me how truly special this union really is.

Fraternally,
Harold A. Schaitberger
General President
International Association of Fire Fighters


Political Action

Five State Senate candidates the UFOA endorsed and lent support to, won their seats. They are Kemp Hannon, Carl Marcellino, Vincent Leibell, Dean Skelos, and Diane Savino. A sixth Senator, Nicholas Spano, is involved in a very close recount. As of yesterday, he was only 200 votes ahead. We would like to thank all our volunteers for their time and effort (see attached list).

 

              

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Legislative Report

The World Trade Center presumptive bill has been passed by both houses of the Legislature and is awaiting transmittal to the Governor. It has been held up because the Governor wants agreement on this legislation by everyone, including the Mayor's office. But Mayor Bloomberg has indicated that he is still opposed to the legislation, on the grounds that it is too costly and the city does not have the money. We are still trying to reach an agreement and will keep you updated on the progress of this bill.

 

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Prescription Drug Benefits

As you know from news media and other reports, health care costs are rising at a hefty pace, with prescription drug (Rx) costs outstripping medical plan cost increases. UFOA's Rx plans for active employees and retirees are experiencing the same cost pressures. In fact, costs are now exceeding the City's contributions to these plans.

We have taken significant steps toward ensuring the financial health of the UFOA Rx plans, which will result in some important changes that you will see over the next two months. Some of these changes will be improvements; others will require some restrictions on use of certain drugs, as highlighted below.

•  First, we are doing away with the current claim reimbursement approach, in which you pay the full cost of a drug at the Retail pharmacy and then submit a claim to the Fund for reimbursement.

•  Effective January 1, 2005, you will present a prescription drug card at your Retail pharmacy, pay the appropriate copay for your drug and the balance of the cost will be billed automatically to the Fund. You also will be able to have your maintenance drugs (cholesterol-lowering, high blood pressure and other drugs that you take on an ongoing basis) filled through Mail Service for up to a 90-day supply.

•  UFOA conducted an extensive competitive search for a Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) to administer UFOA's Rx plans. Effective January 1, 2005, Express Scripts will replace National Medical Health Card (NMHC) as the Fund's PBM. Express Scripts is a leading PBM, which also administers the PICA program for the City. Beginning January 1 st , you will no longer have to carry a separate PICA card as Express Scripts will manage the UFOA plan and the PICA plan on one card.

•  In mid-December 2004, you will receive a packet of information from Express Scripts, including a drug card to present at your participating Retail pharmacy and a form to complete and an envelope to send in your maintenance drug prescriptions to Express Scripts' Mail Order pharmacy.

•  Between now and mid-December 2004, you also will receive another mailing, which will announce plan design changes, including copay changes and the addition of several clinical programs, administered by Express Scripts, which will include some restrictions on the use of certain drugs. These changes are necessary to help manage the cost of the program more effectively to keep the plans solvent going forward and to ensure that drugs are being prescribed for appropriate conditions.

We are doing our very best to ensure that you and your family continue to receive high quality prescription drug coverage through the UFOA. Toward the end of November, look in your mail for a detailed summary of the new program that will take effect on January 1, 2005 and pay attention to the new rules that will apply.

 

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Section 1127 Litigation

On August 20, 2004, Federal Magistrate Frank Maas issued a report and recommendation to Judge Barbara S. Jones to dismiss our motion for summary judgment. (A magistrate is assigned by a judge to review a case and make a recommendation to the court.) The recommendation of the magistrate in this case is not binding on the court but I want to be clear to the membership that it is usual practice for the court to accept the magistrate's recommendation.

Our attorneys had the opportunity to reply to the recommendations and have filed our objections with the court. In our papers we made arguments for excluding spousal income and income earned by our members outside New York City. The court has granted the City until November 29 th to reply to our papers. We will then have a final opportunity to respond to the City's objections. Our final reply is due by December 13 th . Judge Jones will then make her decision.

 

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Random Drug Testing

We continue to have members initially test positive after ingesting a poppy seed bagel. So far, all those members tested negative after a hair follicle test. We continue to urge the Department to raise the bar at initial testing. This would eliminate false positives and would save the City money as those members who do test positive are taken off the line until hair follicle testing results are known

Also, we want to caution the membership that you should carefully list all medications you are taking when you are selected for testing. You should not be taking any prescription medication (i.e. Tylenol with codeine) that has not been prescribed for you.

To date, two firefighters have been terminated and one has resigned after testing positive. One member had 19 ½ years on the job and was not given an opportunity to vest his pension. If you have a substance abuse problem, you must seek help immediately. Please call the UFOA if you need our assistance. We want to help you before you face random testing. We can help you but only if you call us. We have no options once you have tested positive.

 

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Apparatus Safety

We have reminded the membership numerous times of the importance of following all regulations and safety bulletins while operating or supervising apparatus response, including full stops at red lights and stop signs before proceeding and not proceeding against one way traffic. This includes first due responses!

The UFOA and the UFA have been trying to get the message to all chauffeurs and officers for the past several months. Apparently our message is getting out. Response times are climbing and the Department is considering changing written policy to permit responding apparatus to proceed through red lights and stop signs without coming to a full stop. We believe this a reckless policy that endangers both public and firefighter safety. It is also against NFPA guidelines for response of emergency vehicles. We have given the Department our objections in writing.

 

 

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Chiefs' Comp Time

Several months ago all Chief Officers were sent a questionnaire regarding the number of comp time hours they had accumulated. We now have that data and the results are alarming. The total number of hours accumulated for 50 DC's is over 20,000 and over 112,000 hours for 299 BC's. We are considering formal action with the Board of Collective Bargaining due to the inability for our chief officers to take this time. We need you, Chief Officers, to help us to help you. Put in for comp time when you want it. If your request is denied, fax us a copy of the denied request at 212-292-1560, with the reason for the denial. We also learned that approximately 50 Chief Officers have permanent or long term details off the line. This indicates to us a definite need to increase the quota for Deputy and Battalion Chiefs. I want to thank Chiefs' Representatives Arthur Parrinello, Nick Visconti and Jack McDonnell for addressing this issue.

 

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Engine265/Ladder 121

The Department is in the process of drafting a policy for joint fire/EMS facilities. At this time, it is incomplete and does not fully address the issues raised by our membership. We will continue to advise the Department regarding concerns that need to be answered.

 

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Health Insurance

Please note that the dates, to transfer health providers, has changed for active members. The original dates were Oct.15-Nov. 15. The new dates are November 1-November 30 th . All members will receive a notice with their paychecks telling them either:

1.  Go to the City website (information is on the notice) to learn about the different health plans; or

Advising them to call the UFOA Family Protection Plan to get a booklet or CD.

 

 

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Holy Name Society Scholarship Test

Will be held on December 4, 2004 at 8:30am at Sacred Heart School 457 West 51 st Street, New York, NY. Those eligible include eighth graders who are the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and grandchildren of members in good standing (and those who were in good standing at the time of their death) in the Holy Name Society. Applications can only be obtained from the Scholarship Chairman, Dispatcher William Treanor, 98 Bay Street, Bronx, NY 10464 or 718-885-0648.

 

 

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Hurricane Relief

At the October General Membership Meeting a motion was made and unanimously approved to have the UFOA donate $10,000 to the IAFF Hurricane Relief Fund. This fund was established to assist IAFF members in need in Florida. We would like to thank DC Mark Ferran for making the motion. If any members would like to make a personal donation, please make checks payable and mail to:

2004 IAFF Member Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund
1750 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006

Additionally, if anyone is in a position to donate lumber, food, water, other durable goods and/or construction materials, please e-mail the IAFF at hurricanerelief@iaff.org . If anyone wishes to donate their time to help IAFF members rebuild, the IAFF asks that they do not self-dispatch. Rather, you should contact the IAFF at hurricanerelief@iaff.org . The IAFF will get back to you once they have assessed their members' needs and coordinated the response.

 

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Overtime Average
as of October 9, 2004

Lieutenant Hours Captain Hours
SOC 222 SOC 245
Div 1 233 Div 1 198
Div 3 159 Div 3 210
Div 6 218 Div 6 284
Div 7 159 Div 7 164
Div 8 294 Div 8 312
Div 11 251 Div 11 267
Div 13 165 Div 13 196
Div 14 163 Div 14 157
Div 15 93 Div 15 181
AVERAGE 196 AVERAGE 221

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Uniform Vacancy Report
  (Effective October 25,2004)

   
Last # reached
Lieutenant
57
603
SFM
05
016
Captain
-02
210
Battalion Chief
-03
174
Deputy Chief
01
DAC
02
  
AC
-01
 
Asst. Ch. FM
00
  
Chief Fire Marshal
00
  

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Legal Proceedings

VSF- A motion for summary judgment to dismiss the action remains pending in the U.S. Southern District Court.

Administrative Proceedings

Battalion Commander IP
A conference before OCB occurred on October 20, 2004, and we will be submitting additional papers in the case next week. We plan to drop the charges based on Von Essen's anti-union motivation as moot at this time and focus on the refusal of the City to bargain over the compensation of members required to act as Battalion and Division Commanders.

Administrative Fire Marshals - No Change

Miscellaneous

WTC Toxic Exposure Cases

There is at least one pending class action case involving damage claims for exposure to toxic substances at the WTC recovery and clean-up site, which does not require individuals to submit retainers or enter into fee arrangements.  There is some question, however, if all employees working at the site are included as class members. In addition, a number of other law firms are bringing related claims for specific individuals, subject to individual retainer agreements. 

The UFOA attorneys maintain a working relationship with the Sullivan, Papain, Block, McGrath and Cannavo Firm and Michael Block, who has long represented the UFA.  That firm is also prosecuting a related case.  Accordingly if affected members choose to retain that firm, we will best be able to monitor developments in the case.  Those interested should call Michael Block at 212-732-9000 and indicate that they are UFOA members.  If any members have  already suffered an injury from the exposure, they should act promptly to protect their rights

Political Action Volunteers

On behalf of the entire Executive Board, I would like to thank the following members, both active and retired, for turning out for the candidates that the UFOA endorsed.

 

KEMP HANNON

BC Bill Ayers, B-39

BC Bob Boyce, B-50

Lt Serge Burack, L-123

BC Howie Carlson, B-51, Del

Capt. Anthony Catalanotto, B-46

Lt Ed Coakley, (Ret)

Lt Tom Cunningham, (Ret)

Capt Mike DeRudder, L-55, Del

Lt Jim Donoghue, L-8, Del

Lt Chris Eysser, L-124

BC George Eysser, (Ret)

Lt Ernie Gentile, L-157

Lt. Chris Green, (Ret)

Capt Al Hagan, L-43, Del

BC Ed Huberts, B-52

Lt Kevin McCutcheon, E-73, Del

BC Ed McDonald, (Ret)

BC Mike McPartland, B-11

Lt. Bill Peters, (Ret)

BC Tom Riley, B-27

Lt Jim Ryan, L-48, Del

SFM Bill Thompson, (Ret)

Capt. Mike Waters, E-37, Del

Lt. Tom Wojick, E-306, Del

VINCENT LEIBELL

Lt Ed Boles, L-55

Capt Dom Caleri, E-35

Lt Tom Curran, L-23

Lt Matt Donochie, L-10, Delegate

Lt Pat Gleason, L-48

Lt Mike Hadden, L-14, Delegate

Lt John Hands, L-55

Capt John Helmsley, L-13

Lt Bob Jones, L-8

Lt Greg Lehr, L-14

Lt Kevin McCarthy, L-48

Lt Jim McClusky, L-30

Capt Jim Mills, D-14

BC Bob Norcross, D-3

BC Mike O'Brien, B-20

Lt Joe Patriciello, E-53

Lt Glen Rohan, L-43

BC Bob Stec, B-20

BC Mike Telesca, Retired

CARL MARCELLINO

BC Joe Archbold, Retired

BC Joe Anzalone, B-45, Del

Lt Fred Atkin, Retired

Capt John Bevacqua, Retired

BC Robert Brown, B-44, Retired

Lt Robert BrownRet

DC Wayne Cartwright, D-15

Lt Ed Coakley, Retired

DC Joe Curry, Retired

BC Tom Danz, B-6

BC Dixie Duggan, Retired

BC George Eysser, Retired

Capt George Finnin, L-29

Capt Ed Flynn, L-140, Retired

BC Jim Healy, B-40, Retired

Capt Steven Hintze, E-94

Lt John Keenan, D-11

BC Robert Keys, B-39

Capt James Lemonda, E-234, Del

SFM Cecil Maloney, Retired

Lt Tim Maloney, Retired

Capt Alan Maurer, D-13

Lt John McDonald, L-124, Retired

BC Eddie McDonald, Retired

Capt Peter McGrath E-294

BC Joseph McKeon, Retired

Lt Mike McKnigh, E-234

Lt Kevin Michaels, E-234

BC Jerry Migliore, B-49

DC R.M. Mosier, D-8, Ret

Capt Larry Nostramo, E-229

BC Ed O'Connor, B-41

Lt Jim O'Donnell, L-50

Capt Pete O'Donohue, SOC, Ret

Lt Craig Silvino, E-283

BC Brian White, B-45

Lt James Zodkowic, L-44, Del

 

DIANE SAVINO

Lt Gary Benedict, E-283, Delegate

Lt. Dan Bowman, B-38

Capt Mike Burns, L-119

Lt Paul Cinquemani, L-81, Retired

Lt Joe Choquette, L-87

Lt Tom Coleman, L-131, Delegate

Lt Vic D'Aquino, L-119, Delegate

Capt Peter DeFeo, E-152

DC Gene Dockter, Retired

BC Edward Ellison, B-39

Lt Charles Entrieri, E-250, Del.

Capt Bill Gates, L-3, Retired

Lt Norman Grossman, B-18

BC Charles Gussman, B-32

Lt George Harrison, L-80

Capt James Henry, L-149, Retired

BC Bob McGrath, B-21, Retired

BC James McGrath, B-32, Retired

Capt Rich McCluskey, L-134

Lt Rick Montana, L-85, Retired

BC William Mundy, B-43

BC Ed O'Connor, B-41

BC Richard Olivieri, Retired

BC Albert Petrocelli, B-40 Retired

Lt Joe Rimasa, L-82, Delegate

Capt Richard Scarpato, E-157, Del.

Lt Fred Schwarzrock, B-23

BC Beltram Stahlberg, B-31, Ret.

Capt Louis Terrusa, HQ

DC Donald Thorsen, D-11

Capt Wayne Trivelli, Personnel

DEAN SKELOS

BC Rich Alles, B-58

Capt. Steve Calzolano, D-15

Lt Brian Clarke, E-293

Lt Fred Cortese, E-297

Lt. Bill Croak, L-170

Lt. Joe Fable, L-173

Lt John Farina, L-155

Lt James Flanagan, D-3

Lt James Hayhurst, E-259, Retired

Lt Mark Kurtz, L-128

DC Jon Malkin, D-14

BC Dan Melina, B28, Delegate

Lt Kevin Rice, E-44, Retired

Capt Rudy Weindler, L-175

Lt James Zodkowic, L-44, Delegate

NICHOLAS SPANO

DC Robert Busch, D-6

Capt Dan Caffrey, L-40, Retired

Lt Mike Connolly, L-54, Retired

BC Bob Conrad, D-6, Retired

Lt Mickey Cross, E-16

BC Jack Culkin, B-11

Capt Jim Curran, L-15, Retired

DC Ed Dennehy, Retired

DC Bill DeDonato, D-6, Retired

BC Mike Dunne, Retired

BC Ralph Fago, B-27

BC George Gierer, Retired

Lt Timothy Gimpel, D-6

BC Raymond Goldbach, B-18

Lt Bill Henderson, Retired

Capt Tom Henderson, Retired

Capt Kerry Hollywood, E-53

BC Peter Incledon, B-11

Lt Al Johnson, D-3

Lt Robert Keating, D-6

BC Ron Kemly, Safety, Delegate

BC Tom McCarthy, B-7

Lt Harry McMaster, E-81, Delegate

Lt Sean McNally, D-1

BC Dennis Moynihan, B-18, Ret

BC Steve O'Donnell, B-27, Del.

BC Kevin O'Keefe, B-12

Lt Joseph Pupino, L-52

Lt Jim Renne, E-259

Lt Larry Ryan, E-24, Retired

Lt Gil Scarazzini, E-73

Lt Robert Schiavone, E-65, Del.

Capt Jimmy Walsh, L-17

BC Ron Werner, B-19

Capt Rich Williamson

Lt Chris Williamson, E-26

 

 

 

 

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