Winston-Salem Professional Fire Fighters Association

What's New at IAFF 682

Posted On: Jun 23, 2009 (23:44:11)

The Phil-the-Boot (in memory of Local President Phil Reed) grand total was $9303.06. Big thanks to the volunteers that helped this year. They were M. Cockerham, E. Duffield, M. Nichols, D. Mabe, S. Castle, J. Burris, M. Brock, S. Murray, C. Hampton and Charity, R. Meeks, R. Sutcliffe, B. Hernandez, J. Stone, M. Ingram, A. Grey, D. Penry, M. DeRidder, C. Browning, D. Pollard, R. Groce, P. Heitman, D. Miller, J. Warner, J. Allred, S. Vernon, M. Mitchell, J. Pennington, Scottie and Sam Emerson, R. Lakey, and Eric Hutchins from Fire Prevention. We couldn't have been this successful without their hard work!

Thanks to Damien Poole for helping with the Lock-Up I left him off the first list (Sorry).

Michael Hodges
Local 682
MDA Coordinator

Rockingham Chief Retaliates Against Union Members

Posted On: Jun 09, 2009 (23:31:38)

Abusive Rockingham Fire Chief Continues Vendetta against Union Fire Fighters

Union President Fired after Visiting his Mother at Hospital

Washington, DC – Rockingham Fire Chief Charles Gardner has fired Rockingham Fire Fighters IAFF Local 4702 President Robbie Barber, the second union member fired since Rockingham fire fighters formed Local 4702.

Attorneys representing Rockingham fire fighters filed the Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit seeking unpaid wages in the federal district court for the Middle District of North Carolina on March 13. Since then, Chief Gardner has engaged in a pattern of retaliation and abuse against Rockingham Fire Fighters IAFF Local 4702.

Chief Gardner fired Barber for missing turn-in alarms on May 21 and May 22. Barber was off duty each time. On May 21 he was visiting his mother in the hospital. Turn-in alarms require fire fighters to respond either to a fire station or the scene of a fire, depending on the chief’s orders, in case they are needed to assist in fire fighting. Historically, fire fighters are not terminated for failing to respond to turn-in alarms, especially fire fighters who are off duty. Local 4702 Treasurer Rodney Gandy was fired April 24, 2009, for allegedly failing to respond to a turn-in alarm while off duty.

“Chief Gardner shows us everyday just why Rockingham fire fighters felt compelled to form a union. They feel threatened by an unstable fire chief who seems less interested in keeping the residents of Rockingham safe than he is in terrorizing fire fighters,” said Larry Osborne, 12th District Vice President of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

If charges are brought against Chief Gardner and he’s found guilty of illegally firing any fire fighter, the city of Rockingham could be liable for substantial damages.

“This is no longer just about protecting fire fighters from Chief Gardner. It’s about protecting the city of Rockingham from him. Chief Gardner is not just a dangerous distraction, he is a liability,” Osborne said.

Chief Gardner has been a poster-child for illegal management since learning that fire fighters exercised their constitutional right in October 2008 to form a union.

“Firing anyone without cause is illegal and careless. Firing someone who’s visiting their mother in the hospital is illogical and callous. Family is very important to North Carolinians, and Chief Gardner’s conduct proves that he is driving a wedge not only between himself and fire fighters, but also between himself and the families of Rockingham fire fighters. In a family-friendly state, that is the wrong place to be,” said David Anders, president of the Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics of North Carolina.

Since the lawsuit was filed and the chief learned of the existence of Local 4702 and the names of those in the union, every union officer and a majority of the union members have been unfairly singled out for retaliatory discipline. Attorneys for Rockingham fire fighters have been given approval by the court to amend their complaint to include the following illegal acts of retaliation in the lawsuit:

On March 24, the chief issued a written reprimand to Local 4702 member Mike Meginnis for allegedly being “disrespectful” to Captain Vic McCaskill;
On April 6, the chief suspended Local 4702 Vice President Mike Williams for a week (a total of three 24-hr shifts) for allegedly asking a non-union fire fighter to join the union while at a fire station;
On April 21, Local 4702 members Troy Sorrell, Gus Bellamy and Chuck Bowden left separate family gatherings to report to the station following a turn-in alarm, which requires fire fighters to respond to the fire station or the scene of a fire, depending on the chief’s orders, if they are needed to assist in fire fighting. Even though the chief said over the radio after the initial turn-in alarm that more personnel were not needed at the fire in question, he suspended each of these three fire fighters for one day and refused to pay those who responded to the station;
Fire fighter Mike Meginnis was disciplined for failing to report to a turn-in alarm that occurred while he was being examined by a doctor. His pending suspension was dropped only after he submitted a note from a doctor;
On April 24, Local 4702 President Robbie Barber was suspended for a week (three 24-hour shifts) and Treasurer Rodney Gandy was terminated, each for allegedly failing to respond to a turn-in alarm while off duty. Gandy was told by the chief that he was required to bring his radio into church with him. Gandy was also told that he could not take his wife to dinner anywhere more than 45 minutes from Rockingham because he needed to remain available to respond at any time for a turn-in alarm;
On April 26, McKinnon was suspended for a week (three 24-hour shift days) for failing to respond to a turn-in alarm.

Chief Gardner also has denied the use of earned vacation leave and canceled vacation leave that had already been approved and scheduled since the suit was filed. He has failed to pay fire fighters for responding to off-duty turn-in alarms, even though they are entitled to receive pay when they respond. On January 21, 2009, Barber and fire fighters Richard O’Neil and Mike Williams heard Chief Gardner say “if the city fires me, I will come back to the fire department, shoot everyone and then go to the city hall and pick them off one by one, like ducks.”

Gardner’s history of illegal behavior is well documented. On October 9, 1997, the Richmond County Daily Journal ran a story entitled “Case against City Inspector Dismissed.” The story detailed an assault charge brought by a contractor against Chief Gardner, who at the time was serving as a building inspector for the city. According to the article, Gardner “hit him in the face three times, broke his glasses, and caused his nose to bleed, requiring medical attention.”

The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, is the leading advocate in North America for the safety and training of fire fighters and paramedics. The IAFF represents more than 295,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect communities in every state in the United States and throughout Canada. More information is available at www.iaff.org

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PSOB Benefits are Intact

Posted On: May 11, 2009 (23:02:30)

PSOB Benefits Will Be Paid
Fox News Report Is Wrong

A May 7 FOX News report suggesting that that the Obama budget proposal for FY 2010 cuts spending on the Public Safety Officers Benefit Act (PSOB) from $110 million to $60 million is misguided and inaccurate.

The PSOB (Hometown Heroes) program is an entitlement program, which means that 100 percent of benefits must be paid by law to every family that qualifies. The “cut” that FOX News is reporting is an estimate of what the program will pay out and is based on the predicted number of line-of-duty death claims.

“There has been no cut to the PSOB program,” states IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “The families of fire fighters who die in the line of duty will receive the full benefit. Whether there are half as many deaths or three times as many deaths, all claims will be paid.”

In 1976, following nearly eight years of lobbying, the IAFF succeeded in persuading President Gerald Ford to sign the original bill, which at that time provided a death benefit of $50,000. Since then, the IAFF has been the principal author of every amendment to the act affecting members’ coverage and benefit amounts.

As a result of these efforts, benefit amounts doubled after September 11 and are now adjusted annually. In 2003, the IAFF succeeded in expanding coverage to include heart attacks and strokes. The benefit is now $315,746 as of October 1, 2008.

“It has been a long and sometimes frustrating journey, with attempts to water down or shelf the legislation and to propose amendments that would have made it ineffective,” says Schaitberger. “We put these benefits in place so that if one of our members makes that ultimate sacrifice, the family doesn’t have to worry -- the benefit will be paid.”

Employee Free Choice Act Study

Posted On: May 08, 2009 (17:40:18)

Study: Majority Sign-Up Doesn't Lead to Coercion

A 'total absence of any employee or union abuse' for Illinois workers

The University of Illinois published results of a study authored by Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment policy, on Illinois' Majority Interest Petition (MIP) process, which grants public employees in that state the option to form a union using majority sign-up. The findings are not good news for corporate spin masters who repeatedly (and falsely) claim majority sign-up exposes workers to coercion:

"The results of the study unambiguously revealed that the majority sign-up provision was used extensively without hint of union or employer abuse.

"In brief, from 2003-2009, 21,197 public sector workers employed in state, county, municipal and educational institutions voluntarily joined a union. Most importantly, contrary to business claims, in nearly eight hundred petition cases, there was not a single confirmed incidence of union coercion." [emphasis added]

The Employee Free Choice Act would guarantee workers nationwide the right to choose majority sign-up when deciding on union representation. Majority sign-up has been available for decades, but under current law, employers can veto workers' choice and force an election.

Big Business' claims that allowing workers to decide for themselves how to form a union would open the door to coercion and intimidation have no basis in fact:

"While the extensive use of MIP and their representativeness of the state"s workforce are impressive, the most dramatic outcome of the provision"s administration is the total absence of any employee or union abuse."

In the over 1,000 times Illinois workers invoked majority sign-up since given the right in 2003, there was only one allegation of coercion, which when investigated by the state Labor Relations Board was found to be groundless. Even when the process didn't lead to certification of the union, "In no case was a petition withdrawn or dismissed because of union coercion," the study found.

Meanwhile employer abuse of labor law is rampant

Since the National Labor Relations Act established the majority sign-up process for forming unions in 1935, there have been 42 cases of union misconduct in the signing of authorization cards.

In 2007 alone, 29,559 workers received back pay from employers in cases alleging illegal firings for trying to form a union, according to reports by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which adjudicates such cases.

This reality bears repeating. Cases of union misconduct in 75 years of majority sign-up: 42. Cases of illegal employer firings of workers trying to form a union in just one year: 29,559.

While Big Business wants Congress to focus on what they say could happen with a majority sign-up process that the boss can no longer veto, our elected representatives (and the media) should focus on reality. Majority sign-up works:

"Illinois has provided a mechanism for over 20,000 public sectors workers to express their interest in becoming union members. The process has worked without systematic or episodic employer or union abuse. Illinois" majority sign-up provision, like many other state laws across the country, is very similar to the proposed federal Employee Free Choice Act. As the debate over the national legislation continues, it is important for policy makers to have access to hard data detailing the impact of a majority sign-up provision. States like Illinois can make a valuable contribution to the pursuit of an informed judgment about labor law reform."

On the web:

MDA Activity Update

Posted On: May 08, 2009 (17:30:13)

Save the date for the 2009 Phil-The-Boot, June 10-11-12 (rain dates June 17-18-19). These are the dates providing that the new ordinance passes to solicit on state roads. I will be attending a meeting on Monday with more information to come.

MDA is also holding a Lock Up in Winston Salem, they are needing drivers bad. If there is any way you can volunteer your time on June 4th it would be greatly apperciated. If we can't get enough drivers then they don't have to pay a Temp service to drive. I can be contacted via email rookfirefighter10@yahoo.com or phone 336-414-4230.

IAFF 90 Years

Study: Majority Sign-Up Doesn't Lead to Coercion

A 'total absence of any employee or union abuse' for Illinois workers

Meanwhile employer abuse of labor law is rampant

Save the date for the 2009 Phil-The-Boot, June 10-11-12 (rain dates June 17-18-19). These are the dates providing that the new ordinance passes to solicit on state roads. I will be attending a meeting on Monday with more information to come.

Shawn Scruggs has volunteered to help coordinate the events for MDA.

Michael Hodges
Local 682
MDA Co-Chairman

IAFF 90 Years

Study: Majority Sign-Up Doesn't Lead to Coercion

A 'total absence of any employee or union abuse' for Illinois workers

Meanwhile employer abuse of labor law is rampant

Save the date for the 2009 Phil-The-Boot, June 10-11-12 (rain dates June 17-18-19). These are the dates providing that the new ordinance passes to solicit on state roads. I will be attending a meeting on Monday with more information to come.

Shawn Scruggs has volunteered to help coordinate the events for MDA.Michael HodgesLocal 682MDA Co-Chairman

Shawn Scruggs has volunteered to help coordinate the events for MDA.

Michael Hodges
Local 682
MDA Co-Chairman