UFOA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
October 11, 2007
President's Report
- 65-2 (BC Jim Savastano)
- President's Message
- Fatal Fire Investigation
- CD-73’s Deutsche Bank Fire
- New AFID Schedule
- BHS Cardiac Screening Program
- Retro Money for Fire Officers
- Comp Time
- CFR-D Differential and TPR Entries
- Disability Pension Update
- Centennial
- Centennial
- Centennial
- 41st Anniversary of the 23rd Street Fire
- Overtime Average
- Uniformed Vacancy Report
- Legal Proceedings
- Administrative Proceedings
Regrettably, This President’s Report again begins with condolence wishes for the family of Jim Savastano, Battalion Chief of Battalion 4. Jimmy collapsed on Saturday, October 6th while jogging, suffering severe cardiac arrest. Please keep his family in your prayers.
Viewing for Brother Savastano will be held at:
Marine Park Funeral Home
3024 Quentin Road
BrooklynThursday, October 11, 2007
1400 Hours to 1700 Hours and 1900 Hours to 2100 Hours
Friday, October 12, 2007
1400 Hours to 1700 Hours and 1900 Hours to 2100 HoursFuneral Mass will be held at:
Good Shepherd RD Church
1950 Batchelder Street
BrooklynSaturday, October 13th
0930 Hours
This past Wednesday, October 10th, was FDNY Memorial Day and it was attended by thousands of FDNY members. It had to be a near record turnout; we should all be proud of ourselves. Memorial Day is the most important of FDNY occasions and should always be well attended, particularly to show our respect to the families of our brothers and sister who have died. As with all occasions, this ceremony included speeches from the Mayor, Fire Commissioner, and Chief of Department. During Chief Cassano’s speech, he spoke about “criticism” and how it can be constructive or destructive. An interesting topic in light of a recent press conference by the UFA and UFOA where some criticism was extended toward the Department. Well, sometimes criticism is not well received by all. Sometimes criticism is misunderstood; sometimes criticism is well deserved. This organization has made repeated appeals to the Commissioner and Chief of Department to repeal the reassignments of three Fire Officers accused of not following proper inspection procedures; on each occasion, we were denied our request. Our members were not afforded “due process”. Our members were scapegoated and embarrassed by this Department’s actions. The media was camped outside their front door for two days, and their names and photos were all over the newspapers. Everyone should be aware that even the Department of Buildings took no action against their members until they completed an internal 30 day investigation! Compounding our frustrations, two Chiefs’ Representatives were told that they were not welcome to attend a Division 1 conference as UFOA Chiefs’ Representatives. We followed this disgraceful action by filing an “Improper Practice” petition to OLR. What was the reasoning behind this if these are just informal meetings?
No one should feel that this joint press conference has altered the UFOA’s positions. No one should feel that we are abdicating control or changing our strategies. These are our Fire Officers who have been singled out for ridicule, but remember that the UFA has two dead firefighters. The UFOA and UFA share a “common ground” here. Both organizations feel that the Department has not been forthcoming with information about this tragedy and has not been upfront and protective of its’ members. We all know that the contractor’s are responsible for the fire and the dangerous conditions that existed. We all know that the regulatory agencies overseeing the Deutsche Bank deconstruction are culpable for not enforcing the plans and for not keeping the FDNY informed and involved all along. We have no doubt that justice will prevail when the DA presents its’ case. However, in the meantime, when is the FDNY going to help its’ members overcome this tragedy? When is the FDNY going to secure the funds and manpower in order to properly address other construction/deconstruction projects throughout the City? This is the time for the FDNY to adjust to present conditions; conditions such as the building boom, added responsibilities and an ever-increasing workload. Instead of reducing overtime costs by $15 million, we should be given $15 million plus for more members and more units and in return the City gets better response times, better medical care, better Fire Marshal responses and investigation and better building safety.
The UFOA has not wavered in its obligation and commitment to protect its’ members’ interests and it will continue to do so. There are some members of the UFOA who have expressed disappointment over the joint press conference held on Tuesday, October 9th at UFA Headquarters. To these members, I say that you are letting your personal feelings get in the way of dealing in a Labor/Management arena. Certainly, many members, if not all members of the Staff are friends of ours and we treat them with that friendliness and respect. However, the UFOA does not represent Staff Officers and actions taken by the union will not always be well received. In each step of our careers, new positions bring about new responsibilities and sometimes, unpleasant circumstances. This is simply part of the job and one must accept it. Remember, this is Business, not personal! No one should have any expectation that the UFOA was going to stand idly by and accept negative responses from the Commissioner and his staff on a continual basis. We have been more than cooperative and very respectful to all, and we will continue to do so, but we will not accept no action, no reply or no compromise without voicing our displeasure publicly. We still continue to cooperate with the Manhattan DA’s office. However, there is no expectation that that office will be rendering any indictments for some time. This is too long to have our members “swinging in the wind”. This is too long to wait for the FDNY to admit its’ failures at the highest levels for not maintaining some authority and control at the WTC site and surrounding areas. This is too long for our entire membership to endure without reasonable explanations and too long for this Executive Board to remain quiet or complacent.
Any Fire Officer contacted for any interview or meeting pertaining to job related activities should ensure they notify the UFOA and speak to a Trustee prior to being interviewed.
Members should be aware that the CD-73’s are available on the UFOA website as well as on the FDNY Intranet.
The Department has notified is that effective October 25th, they will implement a Building Inspection program that will include a third B.I. period per week. Details are forthcoming and a meeting at OLR is scheduled for Thursday, October 18th at 9:30 am.
Dr. Prezant has informed us that the screening programs at BHS are to be enhanced in the near future. They will be discussed in detail with both unions and we will advise the membership and retirees of these enhancements.
The Department has advised us there are about 90 Officers who did not receive their full retroactive check in the October 5th paycheck. A new system was put in and there were some discrepancies. Those members affected will receive the rest of their retroactive money in next week’s check (October 19th).
I had a meeting with Commissioner Hanley on September 20th on the “Non-Emergent Appearances” arbitration. I attended with Richard Betheil, our attorney and the OCB Arbitrator, Al Vianni was also there. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Mr. Vianni’s pending decision regarding the above topic. He expressed his difficulty in arriving at a clear decision since both the UFOA and OLR had submitted clear and strong evidence in their respective positions. He had requested this meeting to suggest that both sides should sit down formally to discuss options in order to reach a compromise acceptable to both parties. Obviously, the Comp Time issue was brought up and agreed by all, that these two issues are intimate to each other.
We agreed in principle that this was in fact the case and further agreed that we will negotiate these items together. At this time, we are preparing our presentation and are awaiting a date to discuss this formally. I should point out that OLR is anxious to settle this matter as quickly as possible, especially since the Captains’ Endowment Association has ratified their new contract. This Executive Board will endeavor to reach a settlement that is reasonable for all of it’s members, bearing in mind the impacts it will have. However this issue has been around for many years and it cannot continue in its present format.
CFR-D Differential and TPR Entries
Company officers are advised to note DO 74/07, section 2.7 regarding verification of CFR-D certification. This reminder has been published in past department orders and it may be only a matter of time before an audit reveals payment of this differential to members whose certification has expired or possibly to members who never had such certification. Units are advised to call the CFR-d Unit at Fort Totten (718-281-8469) for an updated roster of their unit to avoid payment of the differential to non-certified personnel. It would be prudent to post a listing of non-certified members with the TPRs and/or the company group chart for the use of covering officers.
Our Attorneys have set forth the argument that the ITHP should continue to be treated as non-taxable. Corp Counsel is attempting to schedule another meeting with the IRS for the end of September. The City is trying to get a handle on how much money is at stake insofar as the aggregate of ITHP, employee contributions and the enhanced accidental disability pensions. These numbers are necessary because the IRS wants to know “how much money they are leaving on the table”. In addition, a practical argument that the City is willing to make is that because the base accidental disability pension is clearly not subject to tax, the additional amounts would not have triggered additional taxes in any event on a large majority due to personal exemptions. Of course, no one can know each individual’s tax consequences. Corp Counsel also needs the breakdown of disability pensions because a decision will soon have to be made regarding the tax reporting for the 2007 tax year. It is also unclear if this is negotiable with the IRS. Corp Counsel is reluctant to offer up any significant amount on behalf of the city as a settlement figure to the IRS with respect to past years’ reporting of the disability pensions. We will keep everyone apprised of future developments.
Ladder 35 will have a centennial celebration on Wednesday, November 1, 2007 at 10:00am, in quarters, located at 131 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan.
Ladder 122 will have a centennial celebration on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 11:00 am, in quarters, located at 532 11th Street, Brooklyn.
Engine 302 will have a centennial celebration on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 11:00am, in quarters located at 143-15 Rockaway Blvd, Queens.
41st Anniversary of the 23rd Street Fire
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 12:00pm, the FDNY will commemorate the 41st Street Fire. The ceremony will take place at the location of the fire, 4 East 23rd Street (corner of Broadway).
Overtime Average
as of September 21,2007
Lieutenant Hours Captain Hours SOC 163 SOC 173 Div 1 220 Div 1 182 Div 3 198 Div 3 189 Div 6 141 Div 6 204 Div 7 138 Div 7 175 Div 8 232 Div 8 276 Div 11 199 Div 11 215 Div 13 156 Div 13 144 Div 14 213 Div 14 211 Div 15 135 Div 15 137 AVERAGE 180 AVERAGE 191
Uniform Vacancy Report
(Effective October 9, 2007)
Lieutenant SFM Captain Battalion Chief Deputy Chief DAC AC Asst. Ch. FM Chief Fire Marshal
VSF Action -The Appellate Division 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. Plaintiffs moved for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeals. We have opposed the motion and are waiting for a decision.
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. The City has appealed to the Appellate Division.
EMS IP -Withdrawn as part of the contract settlement.
Off-Chart Assignment Arbitration -The hearing concluded on April 13th. Briefs were submitted on May 18th. We are awaiting a decision.
Comp Time Arbitration -Now that the CEA contract has been ratified, we will be meeting with the City’s Office of Labor Relations in an effort to agree on a fair way to obtain payment for accrued compensatory time.
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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