UFOA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
May 10, 2007
President's Report
- Bravest Scholarship Fund
- Nominations for Election to the Executive Board
- Special Election for Captains’ Representative
- Contract Update/NAC Committee
- City Hall Update
- Labor Management
- Constitution Review Committee
- WTC Recovery
- Taxability of Disability Pension
- Notice of Participation in the World Trade Center Rescue, Recovery or Clean-Up Operations
- Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Picnic
- NYS Professional Firefighters Assn. Scholarships
- Fire Safety Director
- Overtime Average
- Uniformed Vacancy Report
- Legal Proceedings
- Aministrative Proceedings
The 2007/08 scholarship winners are:
Harry Ford – FF Harry Ford – Rescue 4
Dori Freund – Lt. Peter Freund – Engine 55
Joseph Modafferi – BC Louis Modafferi – Rescue 5
Craig Wilkinson – Lt. Glenn Wilkinson – Engine 238
Claire Blackmore – Lt. James Blackmore – Engine 332
Michael Esposito, Jr. – Lt. Michael Esposito – Squad 1
Ryan Kerwin – Lt. Ronald Kerwin – Squad 288
Katie Bergin – FF John Bergin – Rescue 5
*Daniel Rall – FF Edward Rall – Rescue 2
Alycia Foti – FF Robert Foti – Ladder 7
Brendan Regan – Lt. Robert Regan – Ladder 118
Christopher Barnych – FF Harry Barnych – Engine 37
Aidan Halloran – Lt. Vincent Halloran – Ladder 8
Ashley Smith – Capt. Wayne Smith – Ladder 136
Matthew Healey – Lt. Michael Healey – Squad 41
Laura Fischer –Capt. John Fischer – Ladder 20*Denotes the Antonio Morelli Scholarship winner for highest SAT score.
Also attending tonight’s meeting is a 2006/07 scholarship winner, who we did not acknowledge last year: Victoria Natal – Lt. Reinaldo Natal - FCU
Nominations for Election to the Executive Board
According to the UFOA Constitution and By-Laws Article II, Section 1, (c): “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. Petitions may be obtained at the UFOA office and also at tonight’s meeting. All petitions must be returned to the Recording Secretary, Nicholas Visconti, by the close of “New Business” at the regular membership meeting on June 14th. Ballots will be mailed to all members on the next business day, Friday, June 15th and must be returned to American Arbitration Association by Friday, June 29th. Results of the election will be announced on the hotline the same day. The term of office will begin on Sept. 1, 2007 and end on August 31, 2010.
Special Election for Captains’ Representative
In addition to the scheduled election for three year positions on the Executive Board for Lieutenants’, Captains’ and Chiefs’ Representatives, a special election must be held to comply with the By-Laws of the UFOA, Article II, Section 5, (a) and (b). I will be resigning from the Executive Board effective June 1st. Nominations for the unfilled position of my remaining term (ending August 31, 2007) shall open on June 1, 2007 and close on July 1, 2007. Ballots will be mailed on July 2nd and will be counted on July 15th.
Since nominations will close after the results of the regular election for Captains’ Representative it would be logical for the winner of that election to return the only petition and begin serving on July 1st. However, to comply with the UFOA By-laws, we must go through with the formal election process.
The counting of the ballots for the UFA contract took place today, May 10th. The results were 4,037 yes and 3,115 no. We have scheduled a formal bargaining session with the Office of Labor Relations for tomorrow May 11th. A NAC Committee is being formed. We are looking for volunteers – one delegate and one non-delegate from each Division as well as from BFI, BHS, FP, HQ, MRN, SFT, SOC and Training. If you are interested, please see Jim McGowan, John Dunne or Jack McDonnell after tonight’s meeting or call the UFOA office, 212-293-9300.
The UFOA has been working very closely with the Speaker and City Council addressing several issues regarding the new proposed building codes and some of the flaws that exist with current administrative codes. A major concern that we shared with another union, Local 46, Metal Lathers, was the removal of the “Black Iron” mandate used in suspended ceiling construction in high rise occupancies. This mandate removal would have meant a potential danger to our members in high rise fire operations and our union vehemently voiced our displeasure in this code change to many city officials including the Buildings Commissioner and high ranking officials in City Hall. With the technical assistance of retired DC Vincent Dunn and many unions, we seemed to have reached a positive resolution.
In February, the Mayor signed into law two bills that hold architects and engineers more accountable when “self-certifying” new construction and major alterations. Yesterday, the City Council passed a bill that requires the Buildings Department contact the Fire Department when issuing permits for buildings undergoing major alterations. This is just the start of many proposed amendments the UFOA is working in unison with the Speaker and the City Council addressing building code changes that affect fire fighter and public safety.
The next scheduled meeting of the Labor Management Committee is June 8, 2007. The two primary topics of discussion are the status and treatment of Battalion and Division Commanders, and AUC 82R Covering Officers. Both issues were items in our latest Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This is an important step in resolving the Battalion and Division Commanders issue. The discussion regarding AUC 82R will actually be focused on the re-scheduling of tours. The UFOA, as always, will insist that the Department abide by the CBA as written or request formal negotiations with the Office of Labor Relations (OLR).
When Officers conduct discussions or drills regarding responses to alarms with the members of their unit, an entry should be made in the Company Journal.
Several Borough Commands have forwarded memos to their Engine Company Commanders. The memo concerns an alleged disparity in the response times to Structural fires vs. EMS incidents. Originally the Department was concerned about a difference in response times over 1 minute. The response differential that is now under scrutiny is over 30 seconds. Be aware that in testimony before the City Council, the Fire Commissioner stated that our response times to Medical Emergencies was better than the national average.
The report that Company Commanders are required to forward, through the chain of command, should indicate the unit responds in a safe and efficient manner according to ALL Department Regulations, Safety Bulletins, and guidelines. In addition, the Borough Commander should be made aware that frequently there is a problem with the unit MDT which does not accept the input of the 10-84. This results in the receipt of an error message when the unit attempts to input additional information. The recorded response time is therefore inflated.
At the April GMM, under “New Business”, the Constitution Review Committee issued their final report to the Executive Board and membership. Their recommendations for changes were approved. A copy of the proposed changes was mailed to the entire membership along with the date of the next reading of the amendments, which is tonight’s meeting. At this meeting, the proposed amendments shall be read again and must be approved by ¾ of the members present for Constitutional amendments and the majority of the members present for the By-Laws amendments. Upon passage at tonight’s GMM, printed ballots will be sent by a professional balloting agency to every member. If the majority of ballots returned, votes for approval, the proposed changes shall become part of the Constitution and By-Laws of the UFOA. The reading will take place during "Old Business."
The most recent information available from the Department indicates that the remains of 215 of our fallen Brothers have been identified. The last ID was of FF Richard Muldowney, Ladder 7, that occurred on March 27, 2007.
Since the attempt to close down the WTC site on November 2, 2001, the remains of 41 of our fallen Brothers have been located and identified.
Taxability of Disability Pension
The following is a reprint of information and we want to repeat our intentions to take legal action to preserve the tax exemption of our disability pensions.
Recently, an accountant for a retired NYC schoolteacher made an inquiry to the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) questioning the tax-exempt status of a teacher’s disability pension. TRS made an official inquiry to the NYC Law Dept. The Law Dept. hired the firm Herzfeld & Rubin to review the issue and render an opinion. They concluded that the 75% of salary is tax exempt but the ITHP and the 1/60th is subject to taxation.
Police and fire pensions are different from teachers and other civilians. Our pensions are in lieu of workers compensation. The police and fire union have hired independent tax attorneys to research this issue. We don’t want to alarm our disability retirees but we want to reassure them that we will take legal action if necessary to preserve the tax exemption of our pensions.
Our attorneys have met with Corporation Counsel for NYC and Corp Counsel has agreed that the ITHP portion should, along with the 3/4 pension, remain tax-free. The 1/60th portion, however, will probably be taxable. Both Corp Counsel and our attorneys Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler have a meeting scheduled with the IRS to look for a ruling on the issue. At this meeting an effort will be made by all parties concerned to try and convince the IRS not to go back three years and try and collect tax on the 1/60th portion retroactively. We feel we will prevail and the 1/60th's will be taxed prospectively only.
Notice of Participation in the World Trade Center Rescue, Recovery or Clean-Up Operations
As of 9/18/06, the Dept. received 3,847 Participation forms. By 3/7/07, that number jumped to 6,913, and on 5/9/07, it was up to 8,470. There are approximately 100 members who filed with the NYPD prior to their transfer from the NYPD, who are not accounted for in this number. We are determined to have all eligible officers file before the June 14, 2007 deadline.
If you have not received your affidavit from the FDNY and you may qualify for the provisions of the WTC Bill, please call 718-999-7041 or 718-999-0148. The form must be completed, notarized and filed with the Fire Department Pension Fund, Subchapter II by June 14, 2007. It is highly recommended that you send this form by Certified Mail with Return Receipt Requested, as verification of filing and keep a copy of the form for your records. If you are unsure if you qualify, you should still fill out and submit the form. Note: For those members who retired after 9/11 on Accidental Disability, it is important that you file the affidavit, even though you’re currently not covered under the provisions of the WTC Bill. We hope to amend the bill in the near future to include those members retired on Accidental Disability. If you are not sure if you qualify, you should still fill out this form. There are copies available at tonight’s meeting or on our website at www.ufoa.org
Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Picnic
The annual Rusty Staub picnic to benefit the widows and children of our fallen firefighters and police officers will be held on Wednesday, May 30th at Shea Stadium prior to the start of the Mets vs. Giants game. Anyone interested in helping out should contact Jim McGowan at 212-293-9300.
NYS Professional Firefighters Assn. Scholarships
The NYS Honorary Fire Chiefs Assn. and the NYS Professional Firefighters Assn. will be sponsoring six (6) $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors and recent high school graduates who will have not completed more than one (1) year of college by September 2007. (Additional eligibility requirements are listed on the application.) Any child whose parent is a member of the NYSPFFA is eligible. Winners will be announced at the NYSPFFA Annual Convention, to be held in Rye Brook this year. Applications are available at tonight’s meeting or by calling Lt. Rep. Eddie Boles at the UFOA office, 212-293-9300. Applications must be postmarked by June 9, 2007.
There is an opening for a Fire Safety Director at the Department of Corrections, salary range is $46,877 to $63,989. If interested, please see John Dunne after tonight’s meeting or contact him at the UFOA office, 212-293-9300.
Overtime Average
as of April 21, 2007
Lieutenant Hours Captain Hours SOC 182 SOC 143 Div 1 270 Div 1 225 Div 3 261 Div 3 235 Div 6 184 Div 6 204 Div 7 174 Div 7 180 Div 8 317 Div 8 314 Div 11 276 Div 11 293 Div 13 215 Div 13 177 Div 14 259 Div 14 222 Div 15 220 Div 15 225 AVERAGE 236 AVERAGE 222
Uniform Vacancy Report
(Effective May 7, 2007)
Lieutenant SFM Captain Battalion Chief Deputy Chief DAC AC Asst. Ch. FM Chief Fire Marshal
VSF Action - The Appellate Division recently ruled for us, affirming the lower court’s order granting us summary judgment dismissing the Complaint. Plaintiffs then moved for permission to reargue or to appeal to the Court of Appeals and that motion was denied. We are awaiting to see whether Plaintiffs pursue their final avenue for appeal.
Benson Litigation -With the UFA, we are challenging the refusal of the Fire Department to process the retirement of a Firefighter whose retirement application was acted upon by the Board of Trustees. The Supreme Court ruled for us, directing the City to process the retirement of Firefighter Benson.
EMS IP - Our reply is pending.
Off-Chart Assignment Arbitration -The hearing concluded on April 13th. Briefs are due May 18th.
Comp Time Arbitration -The hearing concluded on April 27. Briefs are due on May 25. The case is proceeding well, but no result is assured. Moreover, the issue of an appropriate remedy, if we prevail, is problematic because the contract provides that Chief Officers cannot receive overtime pay except in the form of comp time. We are arguing that compensation can be paid for a contractual violation.
Light Duty Policy-We have filed an Improper Practice Petition with the Board of Collective Bargaining, challenging the unilateral change in scheduling of Light Duty Personnel to a five-day work week. The number of appearances is a mandatory item of negotiation, but the Fire Department has asserted that they always could and always have scheduled Light Duty Members on five-day schedules. OCB denied our request for injunctive relief. We are awaiting a decision on the IP.
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