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U.S. House of Representatives Gives Fire Fighters Collective Bargaining Rights
Jul 14, 2010 (11:01:00)
July 1, 2010 -- The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill to give collective bargaining rights to fire fighters and other public safety officers.
The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act assures that fire fighters in every state will have the right to talk to their employer about how to improve public safety and do their jobs more safely. The initiative was included in a supplemental appropriation bill adopted by a vote of 239-182.
“Seventy-five years after passage of the National Labor Relations Act, fire fighters are a step closer to having the same rights that workers in the private sector have had since 1935,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger.
While most fire fighters and law enforcement officers are already provided bargaining rights under state laws, too many public safety officers do not have the ability to present ideas about how they can better protect the public safety. The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act will ensure that every state allows discussions between first responders and the agencies that employ them, and will promote productive partnerships between labor and management.
Collective bargaining is especially important in light of the fiscal crisis facing many localities. Over the past two years, fire fighters have offered millions of dollars in concessions and given back raises and benefits previously agreed to in order to prevent cuts that would undermine public safety.
The Senate will take up the measure following its July 4 recess.
To view the bills please use the links below
HR413 S1611
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Firefighters Not Paid Worth, Union Says
Jul 21, 2010 (13:18:00)
Analysis Shows Murfreesboro Firefighters' Pay Below Market Value
POSTED: 5:55 pm CDT June 17, 2010
UPDATED: 7:00 pm CDT June 17, 2010
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- They put their lives on the line every single day, but Murfreesboro Firefighters Association Local 3035 said the men and women who serve don't get paid like Related: Watch This Story
"We are not paid what we're worth," said Bill Durkin of the Firefighters Association. "I wouldn't quite classify it as a slap in the face, but there is frustration from firefighters' members part."
In 2004, Burris & Associates was paid $75,000 by the city of Murfreesboro to do a market analysis of city workers' pay. It concluded firefighters' pay was significantly below market value. "Our department was at least 7 percent below market value for firefighters pay, and that inequality has never been corrected," Durkin said.
It's well behind fire departments like Smyrna and Franklin. "We are paid less than smaller community with small tax bases," said Durkin.
The Murfreesboro City Council will be voting a second time on its proposed $159 million budget. It's a barebones budget that doesn't call for a pay raise for its 777 city workers.
The city manager wants to wait until holiday sales figures come in and take a look at revenue in February before considering step raises.
Another concern of firefighters union members is rising insurance premiums, but city leaders have address that."To provide a one-time, $750 bonus this year to all the city employees to help offset the fact that health insurance is going up," said Council member Toby Gilley. "And that does take this thing out of the insurance cost but it doesn't address the pay inequality," Durkin said.
Currently, the Murfreesboro Fire Department has a Class 2 ISO rating, which means a significant savings on homeowners insurance premiums. Local 3035 members said they just want to see a return on their paycheck and on all the hard work they put in helping their fellow neighbors.
The firefighters union president said 138 of the city's nearly 170 firefighters are members. A majority of them have second jobs to help make ends meet.
Articale Provided by WSMV.com
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Remembering The 9 Charleston Firefighters
Jul 28, 2010 (17:46:00)
REMEMBERING THE 9 CHARLESTON FIREFIGHTERS.
IT WAS 3 YEARS AGO, THIS WEEK.
Several memorial events have been planned to mark the 3 year anniversary of a fire that killed nine Charleston (SC) Firefighters in the Line of Duty. As we must remember, 3 years ago this week CFD Members Billy Hutchinson, Mike Benke, Louis Mulkey, Brad Baity, Melvin Champaign, Michael French, Earl Drayton, Brandon Thompson and Mark Kelsey all horrifically gave their lives.
Charleston Firefighters, family and friends will return to the site of the former Sofa Super Store at 1807 Savannah Highway on Friday to remember the 9 Firefighters who died in the Line of Duty three years ago. Like last year, family members of the Firefighters lost will have a private hour of reflection at the site from 6-7 p.m., followed by the reading of the 9 named and the ringing of the fire bell. The site will then be open to the public for 3 hours, with a tent, water, lights, and fans available as a quintet provides music.
REST IN PEACE.
TAKE TIME to study and use the reports and the related documents. There are still documented events occurring at fires in places other than Charleston, that could still lead to tragic loss. The best way we can honor the lost CFD Firefighters, their lives, their families and all those who have suffered from that fire, is to LEARN from what happened and insure that FD's have training, policy and leadership in place to minimize it.
Technical Reports HERE:
* INTERVIEW WITH INVESTIGATORS:
NEXT WEEK? SAFETY WEEK IS NEXT WEEK:
This year's Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week, also known as Safety Week, is next week, June 20-26. Sponsored by the IAFC and the IAFF and in partnership with other national fire service organizations, the theme for this year's event is Fit for Duty and will cover a variety of topics that are related to FITNESS and HEALTH.
Be sure to visit the Safety Week Web site for the sample daily-activity schedule, FAQs, a press release template and many other health and wellness resources.
Recommended areas of activities include:
-General Health and Wellness
-Food and Nutrition
-Fitness
-Stress Management
-Smoking and Smokeless-Tobacco Cessation
-Alcohol and Other Drugs
-Infectious Diseases
-Suicide Prevention
During the week, departments are also encouraged to support comprehensive, non-punitive fitness assessments, medical screenings and educational programs that build and maintain medically and physically fit personnel and help in reducing health- and fitness-related deaths or injuries.
A "BUFFET" OF RELATED LINKS:
Take Care-BE CAREFUL,
BillyG
The Secret List 6-16-10 / 1619 Hours
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Murfreesboro Staff's Checks to get Smaller
May 22, 2010 (10:07:25)
Face higher premiums, no pay hike
BY SCOTT BRODEN • SBRODEN@DNJ.COM • May 22, 2010
Murfreesboro city workers could face paying up to nearly $39 per month more for family insurance without getting a raise to cover the hike next fiscal year.
The proposal also includes laying off 14 workers and eliminating one part-time worker while adding three police officers.
The administration recommends the City Council approve the plans as part of a $98.5 million budget, which would be funded without a property tax increase.
Paying for the insurance hikes concerns Murfreesboro Fire Fighters Association President Bill Durkin.
"The city has yet to follow through on its past commitments to provide our members with step raises promised when times were better," said Durkin, who's been a Murfreesboro firefighter for two of his six years in the profession. "But we are aware of the current economic downturn. Any increase in tax revenue should be reflected in the promised step raises.
"We are also very concerned and will vigorously oppose any potential attempts to alter our current insurance compensation package. We look forward to working with the city on these issues."
The city will also have to pay about $730,000 more for its self-funded insurance plan, while employees' total cost comes to $150,000, Assistant City Manager Jim Crumley said.
"Nothing has changed in the long-term relationship with the city paying 80 percent of the insurance costs and the employee paying 20 percent," Crumley said.
The insurance hikes combined with no raises means the employees have less income left.
City Manager Rob Lyons recommends that the council hold off on raises until February to see if collection of Christmas sales taxes are strong enough to increase pay.
"It would be my hope that the economy would pick up steam, sales tax collections would be ahead of budget estimates and that we would be able to fund a pay increase," Lyons said.
Assistant Finance Director Erin Tucker said a 1 percent pay increase would equal $378,863; 2 percent would be $757,727; and a full step increase of 3.5 percent would exceed $1.3 million. The costs are inclusive of the raise and increased FICA and retirement costs.
The current budget year, which ends June 30, was the first year since fiscal year 1992 that raises were not provided" Lyons said. That year, the city approved an effective increase of 4.53 percent.
In fiscal year 2009, the city increased all steps by 1 percent and then approved step increases of 3.5 percent.
If the council wants to cover raises through a property tax increase, it would take about 1.5 cents added to the new state certified rate of $1.2703 per $100 of assessed value.
An average city homeowner with a $158,000 house pays about $502 per year with the certified rate. The bill would increase about $6 to cover a 1 percent pay increase for city workers.
It would take close to the same amount of tax increase to avoid laying off 10 full-time employees and four part-time workers, as well as cutting a vacant job in the judicial office. The job cuts will save the city about $414,174.
The city administration also proposes saving $70,000 in fuel costs by cutting back on yard waste collection from weekly to every other week. The biggest cuts involve seven full-time and three part-time workers in the Solid Waste Department.
In the early part of the budget process, the administration met one-on-one one with each of the seven council members, and they weren't interested in a property tax increase, said Crumley, the assistant city manager.
"It's the wrong time in this economy to raise taxes and raise fees to balance the budget," Crumley added. "We communicated that to council."
It's easier to attract businesses and jobs when the city can boast 12 consecutive years without a property tax increase in the coming fiscal year, he added.
"Businesses like stability," Crumley said. "It enables them to predict what their tax burden is going to be. The city has a good track record of good financial management. We have a good track record to show."
Given that revenues are sagging, city officials also talked about giving employees unpaid furloughs or offering retirement incentives, Crumley said.
"We recognize the value of our employees," Crumley said. "The city work is done by our employees. But in a year in which we are laying off employees, it didn't feel right to offer who was left raises."
The city hired human resources consulting firm Burris, Thompson & Associates to survey 27 other city or county governments, and 19 responded with one from Alabama, two from Kentucky. The rest of the governments are from Tennessee, including Brentwood, Clarksville, Gallatin, Germantown, Smyrna and Rutherford County.
The county is planning a 1 percent increase this year after two previous years of raising property taxes.
On average, the governments gave out a 1.2 percent pay increase this current fiscal year and project giving out a 1.7 percent increase next year, with only three giving more than 3 percent.
"Our finances just don't allow us to do that," Crumley said.
Four of the governments project to give no raises, and two of them like Murfreesboro plan to wait until later in the year to see if revenues increase, Crumley said.
One other government is anticipating layoffs, he added.
"The compensation plan doesn't promise anyone a raise any year," Crumley said. "It's budget driven."
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