September

UFOA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
September 8, 2005

President's Report

Table of Contents

We are honored to have State Senator Frank Padavan as our guest tonight. He is from the 11 th State Senate District. Senator Padavan will be swearing in the Executive Board members.

According to the UFOA Constitution and By-Laws, elections were held for Executive Board positions at our reorganization meeting held on Thursday, September 1 st . The results of the election were as follows:

President Captain Peter L. Gorman
Vice President Lieutenant Stephen J. Carbone
Treasurer Battalion Chief John J. McDonnell
Recording Secretary

Deputy Chief Nicholas J. Visconti

Financial Secretary Lieutenant James J. Mc Gowan
Sergeant-at-Arms

Captain Michael C. Currid

Chiefs' Representative Battalion Chief George S. Belnavis
Captains' Representative Captain John B. Dunne
Lieutenants' Representative Lieutenant Edward P. Boles

Terms of office will end on August 31, 2006.

 

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Hurricane Katrina

 

The IAFF is mobilizing its resources and support capabilities to assist the more than 50 IAFF locals whose members and their families were impacted by the storm. The IAFF Disaster Relief Fund provides assistance to IAFF members in the United States and Canada who suffer financial hardship as the result of a federally declared disaster area or in cases of natural or man-made disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires or civil disturbances. Your donations will have an immediate impact. This morning, 114 members received $57,000 in direct financial aid. Please consider making a donation to the IAFF Disaster Relief Fund . Checks can be sent to:

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

IAFF locals across the nation conducted their Fill-the-Boot drives throughout the Labor Day weekend to raise money to help their brothers and sisters hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. Miami-Dade, FL Local 1403 raised more than $200,000 for the IAFF Disaster Relief Fund. In Fairfax County, Virginia, Local 2068 raised $119,516.111 to benefit the IAFF Disaster Relief Fund. The UFA donated $100,000 to the Fund and tonight we are asking the membership to entertain a motion for the UFOA to donate to the Fund.

The IAFF continues to emphasize that members should not self dispatch to the affected areas but work with local, state and federal agencies to provide assistance and resources where needed. The IAFF is working in partnership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) to coordinate the fire service response, and additional information about how to contact and register with the appropriate government agencies is forthcoming.

The IAFF made a direct request to the FDNY for peer counselors to support their efforts for IAFF members. Lt. Frank Leto from our CSU has assembled a team of seven FDNY counselors. They will depart for Baton Rouge, LA, tomorrow, September 9 th . I have spoken directly to Frank and informed him that the UFOA will provide any necessary financial or logistical support to his efforts.

Those in areas hit by Hurricane Katrina and in need of immediate assistance, and those willing and able to directly assist with time, or by contributing materials, equipment, food, generators or transportation assistance, should email hurricanerelief@iaff.org . The IAFF is tracking this information, and will provide feedback to you on how you can be of the most assistance.

FDNY and IL firefighters are being staged at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA. From there they are being deployed/rotated into New Orleans to relieve the FRS. There are over 400 FDNY FF's and EMT's on the job in New Orleans and getting positive press coverage.

We have contacted the IAFF directly and offered to send resources to Washington, DC and/or on site in LA or MISS to assist in any way possible. The IAFF has already reached out to the FDNY for firefighter/fire officers/ems personnel to be dispatched to the affected areas. The IAFF does not want personnel at this time but may need our assistance in the weeks to follow. Please call the UFOA office and give us your name if you are available to respond.

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Contract

We held our first meeting with the Office of Labor relations yesterday, September 7, a day after the UFA declared impasse after mediation broke down. Clearly the UFOA as well as various other uniformed unions have an opportunity to negotiate a contract.

Rumors have been flying wildly that the UFOA had already agreed to put holiday pay, back pay and our chart on the table. Let me be clear to the membership that all such rumors are false, but make no mistake that the PBA pattern will require us to find value somewhere. We will not consider taking less than 5% and 5% for the first two years. To do otherwise would destroy the vertical pattern that has existed for many years. We would consider negotiating a deal for longer than 2 years if the opportunity presents itself.

We will begin to crunch numbers with our actuary and the Office of Labor Relations in the coming weeks and agreeing on value for various items. A full presentation will be made to our Negotiating Advisory Committee (NAC) to consider all options.

 

 

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Meal Period

The UFA informed us that their members would request a meal period as provided in PA/ID 279. We remind all members to familiarize yourselves with the provisions of this PA/ID. We have copies available tonight.

 

 

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Labor Day Parade

 

On September 10 th , we celebrate the accomplishments of the Labor Movement and the important role unions have played in the enhancement of working people's lives by participating in this year's Labor Day Parade. This year the UFOA will be marching in

the lead sector so it is important for everyone to assemble at 44 th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue by 10:15 am. Look for the UFOA banner and t-shirts.

We strongly urge your participation in this year's parade with your fellow UFOA members and the rest of organized Labor, especially since we will be going into what may be very difficult contract negotiations. It is imperative that we have a good showing in this year's parade so we can demonstrate to the City how committed our members are to achieving a fair contract and how unified we are in fighting for what is decent for us and our families.

Additionally, our participation in this year's parade is important because we need to remember the many members who last marched with us in the Labor Day Parade in 2001 who are no longer with us. On that day, those lost members marched with us and the rest of the Uniformed Coalition for the same primary theme that we will be marching for in this year's parade: “WE ALL DESERVE RESPECT AND A FAIR RAISE.”

So we are asking you to mobilize the members in your company and battalion to join us on September 10 th and to show the city how committed and unified we are in getting a fair contract for our members and our families.

 

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Legislative Report

Overall, it was a good legislative year for the UFOA. All of our important two-year bills were extended for another two years, and we hope to pass a stroke bill when the Legislature returns. The stroke bill is an amendment to the Heart Bill, and it was reported out of Senate and Assembly committees and ready to be passed in both houses when the session ended. Unfortunately, the bill had been amended with less than three days in the session (it originally included hypertension but the legislative leaders concluded it should be limited to strokes), and it was not sufficiently aged when the session ended.

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WTC Memorial Rally

On a beautiful, blue September morning in 2001, 2,749 innocent men, women and children were brutally slaughtered in the worst attack on American soil in the history of the country. The story of that day is one of tragic loss, uncommon valor and the spirit of a people who rallied together, a triumph of hope over hatred.

The September 11 th Memorial at the WTC should be about what happened that day, about the brave heroes who risked their lives so selflessly, and about the innocent lives that were lost... nothing more.

Please come to the 9/10/05 Rally at Ground Zero and help get the International Freedom Center moved off the memorial site. The meeting place is the corner of Church and Liberty-World Trade Center, 9:30-10:30am rain or shine.

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Endorsements

The UFOA has endorsed the following candidates for public office:

Office of the Comptroller
William Thompson

Borough Presidents

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer
Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro

District Attorney

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes
Manhattan DA Leslie Crocker-Snyder

New York City Council
(Open Seats and Primary Races)

Manhattan Seats

Brooklyn Seats

Dist. 4 – Dan Garodnick Dist. 34 – Diana Reyna
Dist. 5 - Jessica Lappin Dist. 35 – Letetia James
Dist. 7 – Robert Jackson

Dist. 36 – Albert Vann

  Dist. 38 – Sara Gonzalez
Queens Seats Dist. 40 – Yvette Clark
Dist. 21 – Hiram Monserrate Dist. 41 – William Boyland, Sr.
Dist. 24 – James Genarro Dist. 45 – Kendall Stewart
Dist. 25 - Helen Sears Dist. 46 – Lewis Fidler
Dist. 28 – Thomas White  
Dist. 29 – Melinda Katz Bronx Seats
Dist. 31 – James Sanders, Jr. Dist. 10 – Miguel Martinez
  Dist. 11 – G. Oliver Koppell
  Dist. 13 – Joe McManus

The Council members that are not listed are not being challenged in their primaries. In those cases, the UFOA is backing the incumbent.

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WTC Presumptive Bill Affidavit

The UFOA and the Department have almost finalized the affidavit that will go out to all active members. We are still trying to decide how to get the affidavit to all retirees. Some possible ways are to make the document available on the Department website as well as our own site. Keep in mind you had to have been an active member of the Department on September 11 th in order for this WTC Bill to apply.

 

 

 

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9/11 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Program

The American Red Cross has a program that assists those eligible with out-of-pocket costs for a variety of mental health treatments, including counseling, family therapy, medication, hospitalization, or substance abuse programs. Anyone can call 1-800-LIFENET or log on to www.9-11MentalHealth.org to enroll or learn more about the program.

 

 

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Constitution & By-Laws

If you have any proposed changes, please hand them to Steve Carbone by the end of tonight's meeting.

 

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EMS Committee

The IAFF held its bi-annual EMS Conference in Las Vegas this past June. The UFOA invited EMS Chief John Peruggia, EMS unions, Local 2507 and 3621, representing paramedics and EMT's, to join us in attending this conference. The UFOA previously appointed an EMS committee to explore ideas about how to expand the FDNY's role in the delivery of EMS services to the public. All attendees had the opportunity to meet with members of other Departments to discuss their policies and procedures.

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Support Our Troops

The members of E-23, in conjunction with the Trevor Win'E Fund, are sponsoring a drive to equip our troops with Cooling Vests. Each $125 donated buys one Cooling Vest to be worn under body armor. All monies collected by the FDNY will be used to equip New York area based units serving in Iraq. FDNY MEMBERS will be given the vests first. For further information, contact Capt. John Bendick, 914-523-6276.

 

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Centennial Celebration

Engine 7-Ladder 1-Battalion 1 will be celebrating their centennial on Sunday, September 25, 2005 at 11:00am in quarters, 100 Duane St, NY, NY. There will be a community street fair to follow. Please RSVP to 646-808-7949.

 

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The FDNY Gaelic Football Club

The FDNY Gaelic Football Club will be playing their rivals, the NYPD Gaelic Football Club, on Friday, September 9th at Gaelic Park in the Bronx (240th Street and Broadway). Kick-off is set for 6pm and the game will be followed by live entertainment. All proceeds from the game will be donated to fire and police charities. Tickets are available at the gate for $10 each. Come out and cheer for our team and attend one of the best events of the year.

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Overtime Average
as of September 8,2005

Lieutenant Hours Captain Hours
SOC 186 SOC 207
Div 1 206 Div 1 240
Div 3 118 Div 3 150
Div 6 203 Div 6 190
Div 7 185 Div 7 259
Div 8 319 Div 8 351
Div 11 265 Div 11 245
Div 13 153 Div 13 156
Div 14 139 Div 14 179
Div 15 142 Div 15 302
AVERAGE 192 AVERAGE 228

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Uniform Vacancy Report
  (Effective September 8, 2005)

   
Last # reached
Lieutenant
21
756
SFM
05
018
Captain
03
334
Battalion Chief
02
048
Deputy Chief
-01
DAC
00
  
AC
00
  
Asst. Ch. FM
00
  
Chief Fire Marshal
00
  

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Legal Proceedings

VSF Action - The retirees' appeal is pending.

1127 Federal Litigation - We are awaiting the final ruling from presiding Judge, Barbara Jones.

 

Administrative Proceedings

Battalion and Division Commander IP – Further proceedings to be scheduled.

Administrative Fire Marshals - No change.

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